Italy eyes Turkish energy market

The Italian Institute for Foreign Trade, or ICE, has decided to launch a series of bilateral talks on environmental technologies between Turkish and Italian firms. The talks, scheduled to take place Thursday and Friday, will create a platform for 16 Italian and 70 Turkish firms to develop ties. The event is organized with the collaboration of the ICE, the Italian Embassy in Ankara and Turkey’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry. Adolfo Urso, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economic Development and Carlo Marsili, the Italian ambassador to Turkey, will attend the event.

 

"We know very well that Turkey should invest more or less 50 billion euros until 2023 in the environmental sector. That is the official figure according to the European Union," Roberto Luongo, director of the ICE’s Istanbul office, told Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in an interview last week. "The ICE believes that it is very important for Italian firms to participate and benefit from such an opportunity."

 

The ICE is hoping to conduct 400 bilateral talks at the event, he said. "This is just one of the 70-odd events we hold each year to promote Italian exports and investments in Turkey."

 

"During the 1970s, environmental consciousness was not all that high in Italy either," Luongo said. "But we have realized we have so much to preserve, from history to culture. In that aspect, Turkey and Italy are very much alike. We both have lots of beauties surrounding us that need protection. Acknowledging the value of our culture was the trigger point that pushed us to focus more on clean energy. We have put in place new laws for environmental protection. We have developed an environmental sector dedicated to clean energy."

 

"We have focused on environmental technologies and developed our capabilities so much within the past 30 to 40 years," said Luongo. "We would like to utilize this deep knowledge by helping Turkey in areas such as architectural restoration and urban recovery."

 

Environmental consciousness in Turkey is growing, but there are still many steps that need to be taken, according to Luongo. "Water treatment plants, monitoring equipment, air control and garbage recycling are all environmental technologies. That’s where we can help." 
 
Interest in Turkey:Â
Italian companies have a keen interest in Turkey, Luongo said. "Italy is Turkey’s third-biggest trade partner, following Russia and Germany. The annual trade volume between the two countries stands at around $20 billion."

 

Last year Russia ranked the top in Turkey’s trade partners list, thanks to its energy exports. The trade volume between the two countries was $37.8 billion. The trade volume between Turkey and Germany, Turkey’s traditional trade partner, was $31.7 billion last year. Italy ranked third, with $18.8 billion in 2008. "Italy is the most important importer for Turkey," he added. The Turkish market has always been the top market when it comes to the defense industry. Turkey’s collaboration in that aspect is very valuable to Italy, he said. 

 

The number of Italian companies operating in the Turkish market is proof of Turkey’s importance for Italy. "Currently, there are about 714 companies, including Pirelli, Fiat, Italicementi and UniCredit."

 

Italian investments in Turkey total around $4.7 billion, that constitutes about 3 percent of all foreign investments of the country, said Luongo. "We are the fifth largest investor in Turkey." 

 

"Although there are already many Italian companies participating in tenders here, we have plenty of companies that don’t know much about the Turkish market," Luongo continued. "This event also aims at enhancing Italian companies’ knowledge about what is going on in Turkey and to provide them the chance to meet with representatives of Turkish companies and municipalities. We aim to increase Italian companies’ participation in Turkish tenders.  

 

"Renewable energy is just as important as environmental technology," said Luongo. "We are crossing environmental technology with renewable energy nowadays. Turkey and Italy have more potential to benefit from geothermal energy than any other country. We should learn how to use this to our advantage."

 

A day after the event, Italian representatives are scheduled to visit Ankara and discuss projects on launching "technoparks" in Turkey. "We consider research and development centers and technoparks to have the utmost importance in furthering a country’s development," Luongo said.

 

Commenting on the global economic crisis, Luongo said it has certainly had an impact on trade. However, a contraction is not observed in overall investments. "Italian companies’ investments in Turkey totaled $23 million for the first two months of the year. That figure was standing at  $15 million during the same period a year earlier. The figures prove that despite the crisis, Italian investments in Turkey grew about 53 percent during the period." 
 
Improving trade relations 
The Italian Institute for Foreign Trade, or ICE, is the Italian government agency entrusted with the promotion of trade, business opportunities and industrial cooperation between Italian and foreign companies. The agency was set up in 1926 to support the globalization of Italian companies and their consolidation in foreign markets. ICE’s activities are financed by public and private funds from the Ministry of International Trade and by the companies that use its services for advice, information and assistance. 

 

Besides its headquarters in Rome, ICE has a network of 16 offices in Italy and 117 offices in 87 foreign countries. ICE opened its office in Istanbul, known as the Italian Trade Commission, in 1986. Italian Trade Commission is a part of the Italian Embassy in Ankara and the Ministry of Economic Development in Italy.