Italy-Armenia credit agencies sign collaboration agreement

(AGI) Rome, Sept 13 - Italy's credit export agency (SACE) and the Export Insurance Agency of Armenia (EIAA) announced on Tuesday that they have signed a collaboration agreement to increase business opportunities between their countries. The agencies will aim to promote and develop intertrade and investments by identifying projects of mutual interest, exchanging information, and sharing best practices. They will also be free to rely on advisory services and technical assistance to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing integrated production projects in key sectors of Italy and Armenia's economies. SACE's Managing Director for International Business, Michael Ron, said the agreement "enables us to actively support trade and economic relations between Italy and Armenia by helping businesses identify new cross-border opportunities." The EIAA's Executive Director, Vazgen Abgaryan, added: "The memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SACE will allow us to act in a dynamic environment to promote commercial ties between Armenia and Italy. With its open economy and foreign investment-friendly business climate, Armenia offers unparalleled opportunities for Italian companies, enabling access to the Eurasian Economic Union and Iran's markets. EIAA will act as an information and transactions catalyst to help make business between Armenia and Iran as easy as possible." Following the signing of the agreement, SACE organised a roundtable meeting with representatives from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italian Trade Agency (ICE), Italy's largest employers' association Confindustria, and SIMEST to discuss common initiatives and business opportunities between the two countries. Italy is Armenia's largest European exporter after Germany, with 108 million euros' worth of goods sold in 2015, primarily in the sectors of textiles and industrial mechanics. This offers interesting possibilities and cooperation opportunities, especially for the petrochemical, infrastructure (highways and railways), textiles, clothing, agri-food, and pharmaceutical sectors. (AGI). .