The head of the Industrial Union (UIA) Daniel Funes of Riojahe stated that the election of Javier Milei represents the “will for change of all citizens” and that local business will “invest” in the new phase that is opening.
Funes was one of the spokespersons of the delegation 40 businessmen of the UIAthe Business Association (AEA), the Group of Six (G6) AND VENNI at a meeting in Rome with members of the powerful General Confederation of Italian Industry (Confindustria), which groups almost 150,000 companies.
The meeting took place on Tuesday morning at the headquarters of the Italian manufacturing company in Rome and was led by the foreign ministers of the two countries, Antonio Tajani and Diana Mondino.
“It was up to me, as a representative of the UIA, to speak as an entity equivalent to the guest,” Funes de Rioja told Clarín, in a telephone interview from Italy’s capital. “I said that we are facing a turning point, that of society as a whole voted for change, seeking greater inclusion, more jobs and reduced inflation.”
He added: “The citizens’ vote confirmed the desire for change and the decision of the business world as a whole. it’s about investing and growing. We ask our Italian colleagues for investments, but we must invest first. And this will is demonstrated by the fact that we are all in this mission, both the UIA and the AEA, the Group of Six, the CAME and other entities.”
The business representative underlined above all the support of these bodies for the path proposed by Milei. “There may be discussions at the legislative level, but the direction of change is clear,” he said.
They also presented during the meeting Diego Aisacorporate director of the Italian company Mapei, e Carlos Ormacheapresident of the Tecpetrol oil company, of the Techint group, who stated that the Vaca Muerta field requires investments of around 20 billion dollars to reach an export potential of 30 billion dollars a year towards 2030.
“In Vaca Muerta there are nine companies dedicated to extraction and another 30 providing oil services, but 1,500 SMEs also participate and there are enormous challenges to transform the gas from that field into products for export, which requires investments. These developments are possible apply to the mining industry, the food industry or technological services,” Funes added.
The host of the meeting was Barbara Beltrame Giacomellovice president of Confindustria, with whom they have also started talks to put together a mission of Italian entrepreneurs in Argentina for this year.
“The idea is that this entrepreneurial mission will be accomplished in a matter of months,” Funes said. “A phase is opening that requires a profound investment process and our appeal to entrepreneurs in Italy was to join it. There are more than 300 Italian companies in Argentina and more than 24,000 Italian-Argentine companies, according to a survey by the Foundation UIA PMI Observatory”.
One of the problems was the commercial debt of Argentine companies with their suppliers abroad, including many Italian companies.
“Today we need financing for machinery, for technology transfer, especially in the industrial sector. The Ministry of Economy has paved the way to resolve this debt with the issuance of Bopreal bonds. We understand that the dollars that will inexorably arrive in market the next few months will allow local entrepreneurs to take on pending commitments In the meantime we need funding for the equipment the industry needs. We insist a lot on that common industrial history that we have with Italy”, said Funes.
Source: Clarin
