BUSINESSMED, represented by its Vice President, Mr Alberto BABAN, and its Secretary General, Mrs Jihen BOUTIBA MRAD, participated to the CONFINDUSTRIA General Assembly, which has been held on May 26th 2016 in Rome, Auditorium Parco della Musica.

The outgoing delegation of BUSINESSMED was composed by the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beyrouth Mount Lebanon (CCIAB-ML) represented by its President, Mr Mohamed CHOUCAIR, and a Board Member of the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI), Mr Walid GAMALEDDIN.

The annual event, organised by BUSINESSMED’s member, the CONFINDUSTRIA, took place in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic, Mr Sergio MATTARELLA and gathered more than 2000 entrepreneurs and representatives of the Mediterranean institutional environment. The Assembly was devoted to the formal appointment of the new President, Mr Vincenzo BOCCIA.

Mr Vincenzo BOCCIA retraced through his opening speech the main missions of his four-year mandate. “The Industry of the future requires an adequate dimension. Growing will become our obsession”[…] “We must re-launch Italy by valorising our competencies as a second European manufacturing power and sixth exporting country by value added”. And after having underlined the urgency of the resumption of a dialogue between banks and institutions, Mr Vincenzo BOCCIA highlighted the close relationship between companies and culture: “Companies and culture are much closer than one might think; any investment for the culture will contribute to the growth of our country. We, as entrepreneurs, believe that culture is an engine of the human and economic development”.

Among the issues covered within the Assembly: Banks, Competition, Constitution, Credit, Economy, Finance, Public Finance, Government, Entrepreneurs and Companies, Politics, Recession, Reforms and Development.

Following the intervention of President BOCCIA, the Minister for the Cultural Activities and Tourism, Mr Dario FRANCESCHINI as well as the new Minister of Italian Economic Development, Mr Carlo CALENDA, took the floor.

Mr Carlo CALENDA noticed that “Innovation, internationalization and growth of the companies will be the leitmotiv of the new industrial policy of the government” […] “A modern country should set up an industrial policy with the support of the companies and with the companies”[…] “The productivity asks for an assumption of responsibilities between government and private industry”.