VERONAFIERE in the Forefront of the International Economic Forum

Trade relationships, events and initiatives promoting the production sectors represented by exhibition brands including Vinitaly, Marmomacc, Samoter and Fieragricola.
Verona, 15 June 2016. VeronaFiere will be in the forefront with its Vinitaly, Marmomacc, Samoter and Fieragricola brands at the International Economic Forum, scheduled 16-18 June in St. Petersburg, where Italy is the guest of honour for the first time in twenty editions.
This is a unique opportunity for meetings with over 10,000 companies and leading figures in international business and industry, with special emphasis on the Russian Federation and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), currently comprising not only Russia but also Kazakhstan (which will host the “intermediate” Expo in 2017), Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.
Numerous heads of State and Ministers will attend the Forum hosted by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin; the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Junker, has also assured his attendance.
Italy will be represented by Premier Matteo Renzi and, among others, the Minister of Economic Development, Carlo Calenda, who will inaugurate the Italian Pavilion “Italy in Russia”, coordinated by the Conoscere Eurasia Association in collaboration with the Italian Embassy. The Pavilion will be home to b2b initiatives and presentations by Veronafiere through its exhibition events, Vinitaly, Fieragricola Marmomacc and Samoter, respectively focusing on wine and spirits; agricultural mechanization and technical products for agriculture; high-level processing of natural stone; earth moving and construction machinery.

“Veronafiere’s involvement in the St. Petersburg forum is an absolute priority. There is a great deal of construction work to be done in Russia and Eurasia and the presence of Italian companies – currently standing at 600 – has to be strengthened in order to bridge the gap with other EU countries, such as Germany with 6000 firms,” said the President of Veronafiere, Maurizio Danese. The embargo has also affected Italian exports: in just two years, from 2013 to 2015, Russia dropped back from 8th to 13th place as an outlet market for Italian products. The International Economic Forum is consequently a great opportunity for relaunching the political and economic alliance between the European Union and the Russian Federation, as also hoped for by President Putin.”

“Veronafiere has never ceased investing in the Russian market, as proven by our confirmation of events scheduled in Moscow in the wine sector – where we have been active since 2004. We are also organising many initiatives at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum because we believe there are many opportunities for opening discussion tables regarding bilateral development between Italy and the Eurasian Economic Union and because our attention not only focuses on Russia but also on Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. We are watching the evolution of relationships between Italy and Russia with very close attention because we believe that they can start off again with a high level of innovation,” said the CEO & Director General of Veronafiere, Giovanni Mantovani. And in this regard, Italian manufacturing – with products ranging from engineering to agro-foods – is still held in high regard in Eurasia even though today, as a result of the European embargo, interest is also turning to economies such as China, India, Iran and Israel, not to mention a growing focus on self-sufficiency in many areas.”

The events on the agenda include wine tastings organized by Vinitaly, through its Academy (VIA). They have the task of catalysing the attention of the international audience and promoting awareness and inter-relationships, as well as being an opportunity to present Veronafiere’s activities in the reference sectors for Fieragricola, Marmomacc and Samoter.
The focus on the first day (16 June) will be on rosé and mediation wines (16.30-17.30), followed by the forum titled “Italian Wines Discovery: Overview of Italy’s great wine-making territories” (17.30-18.30). The latter event will be repeated on Saturday 18 at 11.30 and 12.30.