The head of the Industrialists' Union of Rome on links with Russia
A Russian-Italian Economic Forum which opened in Moscow yesterday had an unusually high-powered delegation of Italian businessmen. Originally it was to be led by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi who had to postpone his visit to Russia because of the earthquake. The head of the Union of Rome Industrialists and Entrepreneurs AURELIO REGINA discussed the reasons frictions between Russia and the EU hardly affect Russian-Italian relations with Kommersant's ALEXANDER GABUYEV.
Q.: What is the main objective of your visit to Russia?
A.: The delegation includes representatives of about 500 companies. The visit is timed for the Italian presidency of the G8. We will sign a cooperation agreement with the Moscow Mayor's Office. There will be many bilateral talks between businessmen.
Q.: What is your agreement with Yuri Luzhkov about?
A.: The agreement is aimed at promoting business cooperation between Rome and Russia, specifically Moscow. Rome, along with Milan, has emerged as the power house of the Italian economy. Last year Milan contributed 10% to the Italian GDP, and Rome contributed about 9%. Rome is the headquarters of most major Italian companies that do business with Russia, ENI and Enel in particular.
Q.: What has been the impact of the crisis on cooperation between Italy and Russia?
A.: The crisis does slow down the rate of growth of cooperation, but I'm sure it will remain high. In fact, 2008 was an excellent year. Take tourism, for example. Last year the number of Russian tourists who traveled to Rome was 20% higher than in 2007. Of course we do not expect the same rate of growth in the near term, but we hope that there will be no decline.
Q.: In connection with the crisis Italian business has been seeking opportunities to buy foreign assets. For example, FIAT is acquiring a big stake in the American company Chrysler. Are Italians interested in Russian assets?
A.: Of course we are interested in many assets in Russia, as we were before the crisis. Our prime interest is energy. ENI and Enel have already made serious purchases in Russia, but we are sure that there is untapped potential for cooperation. We are interested in transport and infrastructure, IT and multimedia projects. But we are also interested in straightforward joint projects in Russia. Take the interaction between Rome and Moscow: the two capitals face similar problems, which gives room for cooperation. For example, we have extensive experience in organising traffic flows in megalopolises and we are very experienced in the sphere of high-speed Internet.
Q.: Will you discuss Russian investments in Italy? Or has it become irrelevant because of the crisis?
A.: Of course it will be discussed. We look forward to Russian investments. The areas of interest are the same: energy, transport and infrastructure and tourism. The energy sphere is particularly promising. We are talking not only about such giants as ENI or Enel, but about smaller companies striking up partnerships with Russian companies. Investments in renewable energy technologies are particularly interesting.
Q.: After the war in Georgia and the gas crisis in January relations between Russia and the EU took a turn for the worse. Prime Minister Putin even threatened to review the relations with Western investors in connection with the EU-Ukraine declaration signed in Brussels. Do you fear for the safety of your investments?
A.: I think Russia's relations with Italy are better than with any other European country. This may have a lot to do with the warm personal relations between Prime Ministers Silvio Berlusconi and Vladimir Putin. This is the foundation of our economic interaction. Besides, we have already invested a lot in Russia. So, we do not expect to face any problems in Russia.
