Industry

Investopia Europe: 53 projects for investors from the Emirates in Italy

From aerospace to fashion, Minister Urso presented the Emirati Minister of Economy, Al Marri, with potentially interesting projects for investment by the Emirates

by Giovanna Mancini

10 May 2024

3' min read

Key points

Over 700 participants at the event
Diversification of the Emirati economy
A partnership on digital

3' min read

An increasingly close link between the United Arab Emirates and Italy, confirmed by the Emirates government's decision to organise the European 'spin-off' of Investopia in Milan again this year. Investopia is one of the main economic events in the Middle East, a global investment platform set up three years ago in Dubai at the instigation of the Emirates government, with the aim of creating a bridge between the international investor community and investment opportunities in the United Arab Emirates, considered not only an important market in itself, but also a strategic hub for the Middle and Near East and Africa.

The second edition of the event was held on Friday 10 May at Palazzo Mezzanotte, headquarters of the Italian Stock Exchange, organised thanks to the partnership between the Ministry of Economy of the United Arab Emirates and EFG Consulting, a strategic consulting company for internationalisation processes with a focus on the Middle East.

Over 700 participants at the event

The event was attended by over 700 people, including politicians, entrepreneurs and investors. Also present were Italian ministers Adolfo Urso (Enterprise and Made in Italy), Giancarlo Giorgetti (Economy) and Daniela Santanché (Tourism), as well as the Emirati Minister of Economy, Abdulla bin Touk Al Marri. On the sidelines of the event, the latter held a meeting with Minister Urso, who described to Al Marri the Italian strategy for attracting investment to our country.

In particular, Urso illustrated the mapping carried out by Mimit for investment opportunities by the United Arab Emirates in Italy: 53 projects, located in the Italian regions, in strategic sectors such as aerospace, logistics, real estate, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, fashion and food.

The diversification of the Emirati economy

Al Marri, for his part, reiterated the strategic importance of Eau for Italian and European companies: 'We are a gateway, a gateway to the entire Gulf and Middle East region and beyond. We are a place where companies can scale and grow. In 2022 our GDP increased by 7.2 per cent and what is interesting is that this figure is not related to oil. We also grew in 2023 and we thought we could grow further."

Investopia, the minister explained, was born after the pandemic with the vision of uniting the concept of 'investing' with that of 'utopia': 'We are looking at a new economy, an extraordinary utopia, generated thanks to new industries, such as logistics, health care, agritech, tourism and the digital economy.

The country is looking at sustainable development, Al Marri added: 'We have a focus on decarbonisation that we want to achieve and this is how we want to change our economy. Non-oil GDP in the UAE has reached 23%, we are number one in the region in terms of non-oil GDP,' he added, emphasising that 'in the next decade there will be many challenges for us but also opportunities. We believe in decarbonisation. Then there are big transformations going on all over the world and demographic changes and economies have to follow these trends and we want to create this bridge. Certainly the European Union can create this bridge with our regions.

A partnership on digital

The ministers also discussed in depth the issues of connectivity between the southern Mediterranean and Europe, which sees the two countries playing a leading role both on the commercial side and with regard to connections via submarine cables, in particular for the transport of renewable energy from North Africa to Italy.

Urso and Al Marri also shared the importance of increasingly solid cooperation in the development of Artificial Intelligence and other enabling technologies for businesses, as well as projects in the circular economy and aerospace sectors, on which the two countries boast high levels of expertise. Finally, the two ministers examined the possibility of joint projects in Africa to be developed together as outlined in the Mattei Plan.

Giovanna ManciniRedattore ordinario
- @mancinica
Luogo: Milano
Lingue parlate: Italiano, inglese, tedesco
Argomenti: Industria del design e arredo, made in Italy, cronaca di Milano, consumi, industria del commercio, e-commerce
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