Ibni, a boost for growing relations between Italy and Ireland
Ambassador Patricia O'Brien takes stock one year after the association's inception
3' min read
3' min read
"There is a particular sport in Ireland, Gaa, a kind of Celtic football, which is becoming more and more popular in Italy. In fact, I can tell you that there are now more Italians playing Gaa than there are Irish. Here, I hope the same thing will happen soon for the Irish Business Network Italy (Ibni)'. Patricia O'Brien has been the Irish ambassador to Italy for the past three and a half years, as well as honorary president and, in fact, the creator, of Ibni, a non-profit organisation, established in December last year, aimed at the business community of the two countries to promote and strengthen their collaboration in the economic sphere, cooperation, development and synergies, supported by the Irish government through its embassy in Rome, by the Italian government and by Enterprise Ireland, the Irish agency for economic and commercial development, based in Milan.
The balance of a year's activity
.To date, O'Brien explains, about 40 companies have joined Ibni, about three quarters of them Irish and one quarter Italian. This result exceeds expectations, and many productive sectors are represented, from manufacturing to services, in particular insurtech, real estate, legal, IT, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, architecture and design, tourism and coaching. "We are very pleased with these results and the enthusiasm we see among both Italian and Irish companies. But we want to grow further: we want more members and more business sectors," says the ambassador.
The economic relationship between Ireland and Italy
.A reminder of the deep relationship and cultural and economic affinities between the two countries. According to data provided by the Embassy (updated to 2022), trade is worth more than €21 billion annually, with €15 billion exported from Ireland, mainly in IT services (32%), insurance (16%) and medical and pharmaceutical products (16%). The remaining EUR 6.5 billion is the value of goods and services exported from Italy to Ireland, mainly business services (22%), insurance (17%) and tourism (9%).
In the agri-food sector, Dublin sells EUR 460 million worth of products to our country per year (especially meat and fish), while Rome exports mainly wines, oils, pasta and cheese (about EUR 250 million).
And again: over 300 Irish companies operate in Italy, while thousands of Italians visit Ireland as tourists every year, with 13% more visitors in the first nine months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
