Amb.Alberti, 'diversify to strengthen in Kazakhstan'

(ANSA) - ROMA, 17 DIC - "In bilateral relations between Italy and Kazakhstan, 2024 was a very important year. President Tokayev's visit to Italy and the meeting with President Meloni and President Mattarella generated a series of opportunities that we are developing. The idea has remained at the strategic level to diversify'. The Italian ambassador to Kazakhstan, Marco Alberti, told ANSA on the sidelines of the second day of the States General of Diplomacy at the Farnesina.
    "We have always been strong in Kazakhstan, we have always been strong in sectors characteristic of our presence such as oil and gas. But we have chosen diversification to increase our positioning: so energy, but renewable energy, not just traditional hydrocarbons. Then agribusiness, where there are interesting initiatives, petrochemistry, and also tourism, which is an instrument of bilateral collaboration that also favours the attraction of tourists to Italy in very significant numbers, thanks also to the new direct flight between Almaty and Milan'.
    "We are very happy, not satisfied, because the potential is still great and significant. This year the interesting addition was the activity of the Italian Cultural Institute, which for us is a soft power tool but also a positioning tool for Italy," Alberti stressed. 'It conveys a message of Italy's presence that is much more articulated, much stronger, much more collaborative with Kazakhstan, and I believe also innovative. We have tried to offer the best of Italy, which is not always and only that known among the traditional sectors of presence, but also other sectors, working on value chains. We will now also start working on transport infrastructure, using the opportunities that are connected, for example, to the Trans-Caspian Corridor, which is being developed and on which the European Union is counting a lot'.