Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco and Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni opened today the 9th annual conference held by the Bank of Italy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFAIC).
The Conference, which is divided into three sessions, will focus on issues with important implications for global security and prosperity. The first two sessions are devoted to the main aspects of the political and economic developments in East Asia and in the Middle East and North Africa region. The third looks at the challenges and opportunities for international cooperation in relation to environmental protection and sustainability following the recent Paris agreement. The unifying theme of the three sessions is the interdependence between the geopolitical and the economic and financial factors in these international scenarios which, furthermore, are characterized by particularly variable dynamics, such as a decrease in the prices of commodities, especially oil.
‘In the current international scenario,’ said Governor Visco ‘global deflationary pressures emerge which, if not addressed, could lead to a negative spiral of low inflation, high debt and low growth, especially in economies where demand is weak, such as the euro area. The Eurosystem is aware of these risks and is determined to implement all the necessary measures to counter them, as the ECB’s Governing Council has shown with its recent decisions.’
The Conference provided a good opportunity for the Bank of Italy and the MFAIC to share their views. At a time of profound changes in the global environment, the two institutions have recently upgraded their exchange of information and analyses and strengthened their cooperation through the network of financial attachés working in some of Italy’s diplomatic and consular missions in around thirty countries, most of them emerging economies.
