Moving his visit from England to Italy, Costa Rica President Luis Guillermo Solís, highlighted Thursday the “high potential” of Italy as an importer of Costa Rican products and encouraged Italian investors to look closely at the country’s services, tourism and clean energy sectors.
The comments followed a meeting with Italian businessmen in Rome.
Solis’ visit to Italy has two main objectives: advance the level of cooperation and stimulate trade between the two countries by meeting with Italian officials and about seventy entrepreneurs.
As to the first, Italian authorities have agreed to the signing of four bilateral agreements of cooperation: sharing information, extradition, combating organized crime and environmental protection.
But the priority of the Solis administration is to deepen trade links with Italy, the fourth largest importer of Costa Rican products to the European Union (EU) and a country with a commercial presence in Costa Rica and Central America since the nineteenth century.
Solis highlighted the ties between the two countries as “very mature”.
While in Rome, Solis will meet today (Friday), for the first time, with Pope Francis, to invite him to Costa Rica. In the meeting with the Pope, President Solis is expected to address is issues referred to by the pontiff, as his “permanent call for justice for the poorest and excluded”, the defence of the environment and the issue of migration and refugees.
