A three-day programme in Rome and Milan strengthened economic cooperation between Türkiye and Italy, with key visits to Unioncamere and Confartigianato Imprese.
TÜRKONFED Delegation Holds Strategic Meetings in Italy
Led by TÜRKONFED President Süleyman Sönmez and TÜRKONFED International President Burak Pehlivan, a TÜRKONFED delegation carried out a series of high-level meetings during its visit to Italy between 27–30 October. The delegation met with Elif Çomoğlu Ülgen, Ambassador of Türkiye to Rome, to exchange views on enhancing diplomatic, economic and trade relations between the two countries. The delegation also attended the Republic Day Reception hosted by the Embassy, celebrating the 29 October spirit together with the Turkish community in Italy.
Meetings with Confindustria, Invitalia, CONFAPI and SACE
Over the course of three days, TÜRKONFED International met with prominent Italian business institutions to explore new avenues of cooperation:
- With Confindustria (The Confederation of Italian Industry), discussions focused on expanding industrial cooperation between Türkiye and Italy.
- Meetings with Invitalia (Italian National Agency for Inward Investment and Economic Development) included an exchange of insights on boosting mutual investments, particularly in light of Italy’s USD 35 billion in greenfield investments last year, which positioned the country as Europe’s top recipient of foreign direct investment.
- At SACE (Italian Export Credit Agency), the agenda centred on how Turkish and Italian companies can enhance joint projects in third countries.
- Discussions with CONFAPI (Italian Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Private Industry)—representing 1.3 million employees—resulted in a mutual decision to prepare a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at strengthening collaboration between SMEs in both countries.
A New Chapter for Türkiye–Italy Economic Relations
Commenting on the visit, TÜRKONFED President Süleyman Sönmez emphasized that cooperation between SMEs will play a critical role in advancing Türkiye–Italy economic ties: “These engagements will help build new bridges between the business communities of both countries, supporting stronger bilateral cooperation.” he noted.