CAMERA NAZIONALE DELLA MODA ITALIANA: FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION MINISTER ANTONIO TAJANI MEETS CNMI PRESIDENT CARLO CAPASA IN MILAN
A meeting between Italy’s Foreign Affairs Minister Antonio Tajani and CNMI Chairman Carlo Capasa took place at the headquarters of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana in Milan today. Also at the meeting were the Minister’s chief of staff Ambassador Francesco Genuardi and Ermenegildo Zegna, chairman and CEO of Ermenegildo Zegna Group and a member of CNMI’s Strategy Committee. Various topics were discussed at the meeting.
“The fashion industry is at the cutting edge of our economy. We will shortly be issuing a protocol agreement
to support the fashion sector,” said the Minister.
“Fashion is Italy’s no. 2 industry, with sales of over 100 billion euros, of which 90 billion in exports,” began Carlo Capasa, “and this meeting – which CNMI sees as particularly important – may be considered the start of a joint drive to consolidate synergies between Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Government”. The protocol agreement proposed by CNMI was accepted with satisfaction by Minister Tajani, who assured that it would be studied immediately.
CNMI President Capasa also mentioned the importance of setting up a strategic Advisory Committee to work synergically with the public and private sectors. Another topic discussed at the meeting was the drafting of an internationalization programme addressing businesses and markets. “In appreciating the efforts being made by you, Minister, and the rest of the Government, I’d like to point out,” said Capasa, “how vitally important it is to bolster up the internationalization of Italian businesses and facilitate relationships between our brands and foreign institutions”.
As opportunities for further meetings and networking in which to strengthen such relationships, the Minister suggested taking part, as speakers, in business forums or Export Days and proposed the organization of Italian fashion events in our embassies abroad as a good promotion opportunity. Also on the topic of internationalization and relationships with foreign markets, Capasa illustrated CNMI’s sustainability activities in Europe for Minister Tajani. CNMI is active in the Technical Secretariat of the European Commission work group studying the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) Category Rules, and thanks to CNMI’s role in the European Fashion Alliance (EFA), of which it is a founding member, it is engaged in sustainability actions on a broad front on our continent.
The meeting then considered an overview of possible measures to combat counterfeiting and non-regulated markets operating in unfair competition with businesses that manufacture in accordance with the law in Italy. “Despite the fact there are some positive rules in the ‘Made in Italy’ law,” said Capasa, “there’s still plenty of room for improvement on this issue, which is crucial for everyone working in the sector”. Among other things, it was stressed that collaboration between the Guardia di Finanza (finance police) and port authorities needed to be upgraded to more effectively track incoming and outgoing goods in ports and seize fake products. Minister Tajani at this point mentioned the importance of the fight against counterfeiting, which he said was one of the Government’s priorities.
The last topic to be discussed was training, a prime necessity for strengthening a market that exports 90% of its products and therefore has to keep its competitive edge well honed. There was much satisfaction at CNMI on seeing the Minister’s sensitivity to all the issues examined and the commitment shown by all the participants to developing the important protocol agreement augured by this meeting.