Deputy Minister Cirielli on mission to Vienna

The mission to Vienna of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Edmondo Cirielli concluded today. After meeting senior Italian officials serving at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Deputy Minister held talks with Gerd Müller, Director General of UNIDO, headquartered in Vienna.

During the meeting, the strategic value of the partnership between Italy and UNIDO was reaffirmed, with the shared objective of promoting a model of inclusive and sustainable industrial development. Italy ranks fourth globally in terms of assessed contributions to the Organisation and second for voluntary contributions. UNIDO is also a partner of Italian Development Cooperation in the major regional initiative on sustainable coffee value chains in Africa (ACT Programme), included among the flagship programmes of the Mattei Plan for Africa and the European Global Gateway. The initiative has been launched in five pilot countries-Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi-with the possibility of extending it to all African coffee-producing countries. The programme is generating a leverage effect of over EUR 507 million in support of the African coffee value chain.

Deputy Minister Edmondo Cirielli also met the Secretary General of the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs for an updated exchange of views on bilateral relations at both political and economic level. In 2025, Italy was Austria's second-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade increasing by 6% compared with the previous year. In light of the shared participation of Rome and Vienna in the Group of Friends of the Western Balkans, the prospects for the European integration of the countries of the region were also discussed.