Italian connect

TRADE: Besides culture and couture, India and Italy brainstorm over other business opportunities.

We've all heard of Italian food, wine, fashion, brands and even the historically rich Italian towns, but besides their love for food, Italy and India share a common cultural thread that few of us might have stumbled upon "" family bonding.

The concept of joint families still survives and thrives in Italy. Festivals are still constituted of moments spent with the extended family, legacies and values are still passed down the family tree and kept alive through generations, and family-run businesses are still major contributors to the economic growth of the country. Reminds you of Godfather?

In an attempt to tap this cultural semblance and to evolve its image from being a major food and fashion hub to that of a profitable business partner, Year 2007 has been declared the year of Italy in India "" the tone for which has been set with the ongoing Festa Italiana in the major metros.

The month-long festival "" organised by the Italian Trade Commission (ICE), Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IICCI), Italian Cultural Institute and the Italian State Tourist Board (under the patronage of the Italian Embassy) "" will showcase the best talents from sectors like chemicals, tourism, textiles and ceramics, agro-food and equipment presented through seminars, round tables, lectures and meetings.

Having realised the immense economic growth possibilities in India and its emergence as a stiff competitor for China, Italy is aiming at upgrading its presence in the country by creating a variety of platforms for the creation of relations between Indian and Italian businessmen.

Italy has invested approximately $500 million in India in the last five years, with a current interchange of ¤3.2 million. With the proposed initiatives, Italy hopes to triple these figures in the next five years.

Though owing to the current FDI trends, smaller, family-run Italian companies may not be able to make huge investments in India, by way of this initiative they will be able to rely heavily on the flexibility of their organisation in order to build Indo-Italian partnerships.

Giancarlo Lamio, trade commissioner, Italy, explains: "The family-run businesses in Italy tend to be a lot more elastic, accommodating and compromising as compared to larger corporations. These companies are able to meet technological, financial, administrative or any other requirement of its business partner. So, these companies are better able to handle custom made technology and individual demands."

Besides encouraging liaison between Indian business families and their counterparts in Italy, the ICE and the IICCI are also hoping to capture the fancy of the Indian technology sector.

"We want India to know that Italy is one of the best technology partners it can have," says Lamio. With Indian industry marking an upward climb, Italy sees great opportunities in textile, leather, food and agricultural processing, packaging and machinery.

Rajiv Malhotra, chairman (northern region), IICCI, says, "Our two countries are both endowed with a rich heritage and a long history. We hope that the trade and investment between the two can be more than tripled in the next 5-8 years."

Working towards the accomplishment of this goal, various Italian trade and commerce bodies will be organising seminars, one-to-one business meetings, trade shows for product promotions and other cultural events that will help build a working relationship between the two countries.

In fact, the Italian expertise in production of high-tech weapon systems has been recognised by India and the opening up of the Indian defence industry to the private sector has furthered the prospect of Indo-Italian partnerships.

Recently, the Confideration of Indian Industries and the Italian Association for Aerospace, Systems and Defence signed a MoU to promote bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Italy is expected to become one of India's key partners in the defence sector, having already provided India with submarines, torpedoes, advanced radars and cranes for aircraft carriers.