Good morning everyone, 
I am very happy to be sending my greetings to the first edition of the ‘Risorsa Mare’ Forum, which has been promoted by Minister Musumeci, whom I thank, and organised by The European House-Ambrosetti. My greetings go to all the institutional representatives, representatives of production categories and economic operators who will be speaking at this event and who, over the next two days, will contribute to making Trieste, a wonderful city that is particularly close to my heart, “Italy’s maritime capital”.

This Government has decided to work to ensure that our nation’s maritime dimension and age-old vocation for trade can finally be rediscovered and enhanced, bringing an end to the absurd paradox we have witnessed over the last years: the paradox of an Italy that has lost its identity. We are a ‘sea nation’, a peninsula in the heart of the Mediterranean, a natural bridge between Europe and Africa, a crossroads between the world’s two major maritime areas: the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific. We are a platform immersed in a ‘middle sea’ – between Gibraltar and Suez – and yet we have acted as if we weren’t the heirs of the Maritime Republics, as if we weren’t surrounded by more than 8,000 kilometres of coastline. 

We have decided to reverse the trend and finally look at the sea as a resource whose value must be enhanced with an overall vision. This is why we have established a Ministry that deals specifically with this subject, created an ad hoc task force, and entrusted the interministerial committee for marine policies with the task of turning that vision into a concrete strategy. That strategy’s first building block is the ‘Sea Plan’, which has been approved by the Committee and will be presented during this two-day event in Trieste.

It is not for me to illustrate the relative details, that will be Minister Musumeci’s job, but I do want to underline the change in perspective. For the first time, the Government has brought all public sector players in charge of dealing with sea-related matters around the same table, instigated dialogue between supply chains, gathered proposals from companies, and launched a document that covers all aspects regarding the sea as a resource, with ambitious objectives. I am thinking of the strategic objective of making Italy an energy hub for Europe, for example, and the decisive contribution the sea can make to renewable energy production. I am thinking of the more central role our port and logistics system can and must take on in European and international maritime trade, and the need to support the energy transition for maritime transport. In addition to this, there is the work to be done to strengthen Italy’s leading position in shipbuilding and the shipping industry, and the attention that needs to be paid to the specific nature of work in the maritime sector. That is without forgetting, of course, a number of national assets that make an irreplaceable contribution to our gross domestic product: tourism, fishing and aquaculture. However, I am also thinking about one of the many new challenges awaiting us: the race to the underwater world and the geological resources of the seabed. A new ‘domain’ in which Italy intends to play a leading role.

Our sea is a lot of things: it is identity, it is culture, it is work, it is wealth. It is the blue line that shapes what Italy looks like, making it unique. It is a border but also a horizon. It protects and challenges us, acting as a constant stimulus to push ourselves beyond our limits. It is now up to us to take this immense legacy and carry it into the future, charting new courses to make Italy a leading player once again.

Thank you, and I wish you all the best with your work.
 
[Courtesy translation]