The ANSA Forum on the occasion of the Nave Vespucci stop
Culture, beauty, innovation and empathy: the image that Singaporeans have of Italy and its people can be summarized in these four words, according to what emerged on the occasion of the ANSA Forum ‘Italy meets Singapore, they say about us’, which took place inside the Villaggio Italia set up on the occasion of the Amerigo Vespucci stop in the island-state.
An event organized in collaboration with Difesa Servizi and opened by the speech of the Deputy Minister for Business and Made in Italy, Valentino Valentini. Who underlined the importance of strengthening relations between two countries that present various similarities: from the centrality in their respective geographical areas to the density of family businesses and SMEs bearers of values and traditions.
“Singapore is the gateway to Southeast Asia,” Valentini said among other things. And this function has an even greater value compared to a globalization that is increasingly taking on a regional dimension.
The attention towards this area of the world, among those which are experiencing the most marked growth in their economies, was highlighted by ANSA’s CEO Stefano De Alessandri. “Next year we will celebrate 80 years since the foundation of the Agency, which took place on 15 January 1945”. A long journey that has led ANSA to enter into collaboration agreements with around seventy other agencies and to have a wide network of correspondents. Given its geopolitical and economic relevance, D’Alessandri further observed, ANSA has strengthened its presence in the region, in particular in Japan, Vietnam, Singapore and India.
Federico Donato, former president of Eurocham Singapore, defined the country as “hospitable and easy” to do business, characteristics which over the last 20 years have increased its centrality in parallel with the problems that arose in Hong Kong after its return under the control of Dinner.
The entrepreneur Charity Cheah (Toni&Gay) spoke about culture, beauty and relational ease as characteristics inherent in the DNA of Italians, who admitted that her years spent in Italy have made her “better”. “Singapore won its first Olympic medal at the sports hall in Rome in 1960”, recalled Huang Eu Chai, director of Ergo Travel, speaking of the alternative destinations towards which he directs Singaporean tourists who come to discover Italy.
Cecilia Laschi, director of the Robotics department of the National University of Singapore, spoke about how, in this country, the research activities started in her sector in Italy and Europe can progress and more easily transform into real applications. “This is a real paradise for robotics,” he concluded.