Amid the growth in agro-food sector in the past two years, Italy is strengthening the ties of Qatari and Italian private sectors in the fields of agriculture and livestock production, feed production and food processing, Italian ambassador Pasquale Salzano said.

These efforts also include introducing Qatari businessmen to major Italian agricultural products, Salzano said in a speech during a recent press conference that announced the ‘Back to Business’ networking event to be held on October 29 at the W Doha Hotel.
“The new agreement between Coldiretti and LuLu marks an important milestone in this direction. Coldiretti, as a matter of fact, is the leading Italian organisation of cultivators representing half-million Italian farmers. 
“The next step, hopefully, will be the opening of Italian-Qatari companies to handle the distribution of Italian food in Doha to meet the fast-growing demand for the outlets of international quality food required to create a sophisticated offer for expats, tourists and, of course, 2022,” Salzano said.
He continued: “New businesses are created through synergies and strengthened by sharing common beliefs and traditions. Food, both for in the Arab and Italian world, is an important aspect of the heritage that brings together family and business gatherings and celebrates hospitality by welcoming people into our communities.”
In the field of hospitality, the ambassador said tourism is another business sector that Italy “is passionately dedicated to,” adding that Qatar’s tourism industry “is booming,” driven by the country’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup in 2022.
“Tourism offers a great potential for business co-operation and investments. We are ready to share our expertise, hoping to give a positive contribution to the development plans launched by the Government through the Qatar Tourism Authority,” Salzano said.
He said the Italian embassy already has a group of 14 certified Italian speaking guides in Doha who ready to welcome cruise tourists. Some of them are also involved through the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Qatar with a project dubbed ‘Follow Italy in Qatar’, which is aimed at offering recommendations on Italian destinations for tourists interested to travel to Italy.
Underlining the role of the ‘Back to Business’ networking event in increasing investments in Qatar, Salzano said: “We are witnessing a phase of great renewal in the economy of Qatar, the awareness of being able to depend on the country’s potential, as well as the new generation is the driving force for this renaissance. 
“For the Italian and the international business community that are eager to cooperate in the country’s progress, this is another great opportunity to share expertise and best practices with local companies, treasuring the added value of the lessons learned in the past 15 years.”