Venice, 23 June 2008
Press Agency of Unioncamere Veneto

Australia, with its relatively unexplored market, represents a land of great economic potentialities for Veneto enterprises.
 
Trade is meaningful: during 2007, Veneto exported € 450 million-worth of products to Australia (+16.1% compared to 2006) over the € 2,780 million-worth total Italian exports.

Imports reached € 150 million (+30.8%), equal to the 0.4% of import flows in the region.

During the conference “Country Presentation Australia” at the Venice Gateway for Science and Technology VEGA, organized by Unioncamere Veneto, Centro Estero Veneto, the Associazione Italia-Australia and the Australian Honorary Consulate.

Federico Tessari, president of Unioncamere Veneto, underlines that: “Within the last decade, there has been a growing trend as for exports from Veneto to Australia. The annual average growth rate over the period 1998-2007 was 10.8%. Veneto confirms itself to be an exporter to Australia, and the situation experienced a consolidation in the last years.

These collaboration possibilities are based on solid preconditions: Veneto community living in Australia, which still maintains strong ties with our region, even commercial ones”.

Fulvio Brunetta, president of the Giunta Nazionale Associazione Italia-Australia, and Massimo Colomban, Australian honorary consul in Italy and president of VEGA, confirm the same concept.

Colomban: “From Venice through Australia: from the Silk Road to the Gold Road…the black, real gold: a great potentiality of this new promising development route that Veneto should prize”.

As a matter of fact, Australia is a country boasting steady growth, strong competitiveness and excellent future prospects both in terms of investments and for the quality of life it can offer.

Australia ranks sixth among developed economies in the world as for organization aimed at research and innovation, mainly biotech, clean tech, ICT services, digital media and nanotechnologies. Australia is the second nation in the world as for number of Italian researchers (14%).

“This is why – Mr. Colomban explains – Australia honorary consulate is based in VEGA. Together with Unioncamere Veneto, Veneto Region and many other specific associations and organizations, relationships and programmes are being developed in order to prize the growth of cultural, relational and commercial exchanges”.