Latest / DEWA Podcasts / WETEX & ICE: 15+ Years of Partnership — Taking “Made in Italy” Innovation to the Middle East “Made in Italy. Driven by Innovation. Connected to Opportunity through WETEX.”

Transcript

WETEX & ICE: 15+ Years of Partnership — Taking “Made in Italy” Innovation to the Middle East “Made in Italy. Driven by Innovation. Connected to Opportunity through WETEX.” · DEWA Podcasts

• 0:00
  Welcome to the podcast. Today, we're exploring
• 0:02
  how international partnerships drive global sustainability.
• 0:06
  Yeah. We're focusing on a powerful 15 -year grid
• 0:10
  between Italian innovation and Middle Eastern
• 0:13
  opportunity. Right. We're specifically talking
• 0:16
  about the Italian trade agency's presence at
• 0:18
  WETEX 2026. It is a phenomenal event, organized
• 0:23
  by Diwa in Dubai from October 20th to the 22nd,
• 0:26
  while WETEX 2026 features a massive Italian pavilion.
• 0:31
  Wow. Across 500 square meters, 45 Italian companies
• 0:36
  and startups are showing off their tech. They
• 0:39
  are proving that the famous Made in Italy label
• 0:42
  applies heavily to environmental technologies
• 0:45
  and renewable energy now. And it's designed specifically
• 0:48
  for business creation. Absolutely. It acts as
• 0:52
  a major strategic gateway for B2B and B2G engagement.
• 0:56
  The leadership driving this event really sees
• 0:59
  the profound impact. Yeah. His Excellency Saeed
• 1:02
  Mohamed Altair, the MD and CEO of Diwa, highlighted
• 1:06
  this perfectly. Okay. He noted that the UAE and
• 1:09
  Italy share a strong strategic partnership founded
• 1:12
  on a common vision. Right. This shared vision
• 1:16
  aims to advance innovation and accelerate the
• 1:18
  transition towards a resilient green economy.
• 1:20
  The diplomatic ties reinforce that economic vision,
• 1:24
  too. Definitely. His Excellency Lorenzo Fanara,
• 1:28
  the ambassador of Italy to the UAE, echoed those
• 1:30
  exact thoughts. Hmm. He said that Italy and the
• 1:34
  UAE share a strong partnership built on mutual
• 1:37
  trust and close economic ties. Yeah. He emphasized
• 1:41
  that Italy's participation in WETEX 2026 reaffirms
• 1:45
  their commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation
• 1:48
  in green tech. You can really see that economic
• 1:51
  tie in the data. Oh, for sure. In 2025, Italian
• 1:55
  exports to the UAE across these key green sectors
• 1:58
  reached a staggering 1 .25 billion euros. Wow.
• 2:03
  And while the first five months of 2026 saw a
• 2:06
  natural market adjustment to about 402 million
• 2:09
  euros, the Italian market share remains incredibly
• 2:11
  steady. That's impressive. Surprisingly, there
• 2:15
  are actually over 600 Italian companies established
• 2:18
  in the UAE right now, which perfectly aligns
• 2:21
  with the strategy outlined by Valerio Soldani.
• 2:25
  He's the Italian trade commissioner at the ITA
• 2:27
  Dubai office. Right. He stated that WETEX remains
• 2:31
  a vital platform for Italian companies seeking
• 2:33
  to consolidate their presence in the UAE. Yeah.
• 2:36
  Italy is highly committed to maintaining its
• 2:39
  role as one of the UAE's key business partners
• 2:41
  in sustainability. It truly is about transforming
• 2:44
  visibility into lasting relationships and long
• 2:47
  -term business growth. Exactly. Now, here's a
• 2:50
  question we'd like you to think about. Hmm. As
• 2:53
  traditional hubs of manufacturing like Italy
• 2:55
  pivot their expertise toward advanced green tech,