Italy's region of Liguria is seeking closer ties with Moscow at many levels and views the sanctions against Russia as obstacles that need to be overcome, the region's president, Giovanni Toti, said at the Russian-Italian seminar in Genoa on Friday
GENOA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st February, 2020) Italy's region of Liguria is seeking closer ties with Moscow at many levels and views the sanctions against Russia as obstacles that need to be overcome, the region's president, Giovanni Toti, said at the Russian-Italian seminar in Genoa on Friday.
"Our task is to develop closer relations with Russia and to create an alliance at the European level, where Russia will be as well," Toti said.
Liguria's president added that economically speaking, Europe has not been doing so well recently.
"The long-standing period of sanctions and economic impediments are a problem for us because Russia is a crucial partner, including in trade issues," Toti noted, adding that Liguria could have a productive dialogue with Russia and attract private investors.
Speaking at the opening of the seminar, the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority's President Paolo Emilio Signorini, in turn, said that Genoa was already working on strengthening ties with Russia.
"Genoa is very exposed to global trade. We are doing a lot for relations with Russia in the sector of gas, in the sector of tourism and others," Signorini said.
Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Italian La Stampa daily newspaper that sanctions are having a negative impact on Russian-Italian relations with trade between the two countries having dropped from $53.8 billion in 2013 to 26.9 billion in 2018.
There are currently about 500 Italian companies working in different sectors in Russia, including food and processing industries, innovations and information technologies, as well as the production of building materials.
The seminar, dubbed "Russia-Italy: the Art of Innovation" was organized by the Conoscere Eurasia Association, the Russian consulate and the Ligurian authorities. Russian ambassador to Italy Sergey Razov and a delegation from Sverdlovsk Oblast are present at the event. Italy will be the partner country at the Innoprom International Industrial Fair, which will be held in Russia's Yekaterinburg from July 7-10.
