Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst: “President Mattarella is a thoroughly convinced European. At a time when we need to stand together in Europe more than ever, President Mattarella lends his strong voice to this solidarity in Italy. In particular, the current European challenges such as migration, maintaining internal security and the future viability of the economy unite our two countries. It is therefore a great pleasure for us that President Mattarella is coming to North Rhine-Westphalia as part of his state visit. Because we are connected to Italy in a special way. Numerous people in North Rhine-Westphalia have Italian roots, and our civil society and economic relationships are close. The main thing is to make a contribution to German-Italian friendship and cohesion in Europe. The regional partnership with the Italian region of Piedmont reinforces this.”
Deputy Prime Minister Mona Neubaur: “Italy and North Rhine-Westphalia have been partners for many years. Our countries are closely linked to one another socially and economically through countless contacts. One in four Italians living in Germany is at home in North Rhine-Westphalia. Around 600 Italian companies employ a total of around 24,000 people in North Rhine-Westphalia. We also owe this closeness to years of active immigration policy, which goes back to the recruitment agreements in the 1950s. This is a real success story for the people of our country and our economy. We are therefore very pleased that the visit of the Italian President HE Sergio Mattarella and his daughter Laura Mattarella will further deepen the relations between North Rhine-Westphalia and Italy. We are also united by challenges, such as the transformation of the economy and our energy system, where we can find solutions together and benefit from each other in an economically strong and free Europe.”
Relations between North Rhine-Westphalia and Italy
Italy is an important trading partner for North Rhine-Westphalia (seventh place). A particular focus is on expanding the regional partnership with Piedmont, especially in the future topics of artificial intelligence, hydrogen and autonomous driving. Prime Minister Wüst was last in Italy last year for talks with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. Economics Minister Neubaur visited Milan and Turin in the spring of this year. At the beginning of September, a Piedmontese expert delegation on the subject of autonomous driving visited North Rhine-Westphalia. In total, over 140,000 people of Italian origin live in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Sergio Mattarella has been the twelfth President of the Italian Republic since February 3, 2015. It is the president’s first state visit to North Rhine-Westphalia.
