Fiat Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo on Wednesday urged the next Italian government to unify the foreign and foreign trade ministries as a way to best promote Italy abroad.
Speaking at a conference at the LUISS business school, Montezemolo also call for Italy's Institute of Foreign Trade (ICE) to be run more like a private sector agency ''in order to avoid useless and counterproductive missions abroad by regional governors and government officials''.
''If, as we hope, the next government will unite the foreign trade ministry with the foreign ministry we will finally be able to embark on a common international strategy''.
The foreign ministry, he added, ''will have to demonstrate that it is capable of adapting to its new mission by renovating its procedures and professional level of tis staff''.
Montezemolo went on to observe that he had noticed ''signs of reluctance and impatience'' in Italy's diplomatic corps to the demands and needs of the business sector.
In the future, the Fiat boss explained, ''Italy's network abroad will have to be totally flexible. Personnel must be deployed where they are needed''.
He then cited the example that ''if Kazakistan becomes a priority market, we cannot have there just an ambassador with two secretaries, while in Switzerland we maintain ten consulates''.
Montezemolo also said that regions should no longer promote themselves alone but work as a team on the international scene.
''The federalist model works well in many circumstances but certainly not in an international context. It has already been demonstrated, beyond a reasonable doubt, that missions abroad by regional governors and officials are useless and counterproductive''.
Italians exports have done well in recent years ''but the upcoming short-term international economic picture will be hard and difficult,'' Montezemolo observed.
It was for this reason, he explained that exporting companies and and agencies working to support them on the international scene needed to rationalised and equipped for the challenges ahead.
''If we look back to where we stood in 2004 and then look to where we are today we can be satisfied. In these four years our exports rose 35.5%, double the rate in France,'' Montezemolo said.
''In 2007 alone exports jumped 9.7% and Italy's share of the export market rose from 3.4% in 2006 to 3.6% last year,'' he added.
''Nevertheless, much remains to be done. Companies will have to structure themselves to act directly in the international market and the public sector will have to be revamped to support them,'' the Fiat chairman said.
''It is essential that a steering group be created to improve the efficiency of international public and private initiatives and ensure that energies and resources are not wasted,'' Montezemolo concluded.
