MUMBAI, Nov 29: The European House Ambrosetti group’s senior partner Lorenzo Tavazzi on Friday said Italian companies have invested USD 6.5 billion in India, which speaks of the importance accorded to the world’s fastest growing major economy, and stressed that there are a lot of opportunities for growth.
Tavazzi, who heads TEHA’s Scenarios and Intelligence Areas, was speaking in Mumbai after the inauguration of the Villaggio Italia exposition, being held to coincide with the port of call of Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian Navy ship used for training and supporting national diplomacy.
Speaking at a panel discussion curated by top Italian news agency ANSA in connection with the ship’s arrival in Mumbai, Tavazzi said Italy can help India’s aspirations on the energy transition and transport fronts with its expertise in sustainable technologies and also high-speed rail.
Alessandro Giuliani of SDA Bocconi Asia Center, a Mumbai-based management education institute, said that given the commonality on the food front, wherein the culinary habits of both the countries focus on usage of spices, Indian students should feel at home if they go to study in Italy.
The education services-focused company has been training Indian students in India for over a decade, and Italian companies are picking them up, he said.
Educational ties are very important for the bilateral relationship, he said, adding that while India is blessed with strength on the hard skills, it is the “soft skills” where it needs to imbibe more.
Speaking at the panel discussion, Press Trust of India’s chief executive and editor-in-chief Vijay Joshi said that there is a lot in common between India and Italy, and people from both the countries should learn more about each other.
Joshi said he is a big fan of Italy and has been to Rome on more occasions than any other European city.
“I really wish that Indians would learn more about Italy and Italians would learn more about India. There is so much in common between the countries,” Joshi said.
“Italians also give a lot of importance to family ties, just like we do in India,” Joshi said, and spoke of the warmth of the European nation’s people.
He said his connect with Italy dates back to childhood, when his father owned the popular Italian brand Lambretta scooter.
“I always aspired for a Vespa,” he said, recalling another iconic Italian brand. “By the time I grew up, my aspirations moved to Alfa Romeo,” Joshi said, speaking about the iconic Italian car brand.
Without even coming to know of it, Indians have been influenced by Italian aspects like Julius Caesar, Columbus and Merchant of Venice, he said.
In another panel discussion hosted by ANSA as part of the same event, designer Kulsum Shadab Wahab said she has found compassion and warmth while working in Milan.
She said the port of call of Amerigo Vespucci in Mumbai is not just the arrival of a ship, but should be seen from the lens of solidarity.
Italian actor Giorgio Andriani, who has done a few Bollywood projects, said the biggest of the similarities in the two countries is the shared love for food and films.
Italian DJ and influencer Olly Esse said she has travelled extensively in India including to north-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, and said that people in India are less judgemental but very curious about Italy and it is this curiosity which takes many to visit the European country.
Others who spoke at the two panel discussions included Kymaya Rohit Kumar, a former Indian student at Italy’s Bocconi University, YouTuber Giulia Raffaello and designer Dhruv Kapoor.
The ship and the Villaggio Italia exposition were thrown open to public after the inaugural ceremony at the Indira Dock Friday evening, which was followed by a tribute concert to Giacomo Puccini, an Italian composer known primarily for his operas.
“This ship is a bridge between all the different cultures, our cultures, your cultures, all the people that we have been meeting in our journey to establish a bond between the Italian way to do things and is also bringing a message of peace, a message of solidarity,” said Luca Andreoli, chief executive of the Italy’s Ministry of Defence-owned company Difesa Servizi, the organizers of Villaggio Italia. (PTI)
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