29 29 March 2016 – The Minister of Infrastructures and Transport, Graziano Delrio, met the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Italy, Li Ruiyu.
During the meeting, the development opportunities of the bilateral cooperation in infrastructure and transport sectors were discussed, in particular in the maritime and port sectors also in relation to the Chinese Initiative “One Belt One Road” (OBOR) “on the Silk Road” Project.
The Minister explained to the Chinese Ambassador the measures adopted in the National Strategic Plan for Ports and Logistics, presenting the opportunities offered by the Italian port system as a whole and in its connection with the major European Transport Corridors which cross Italy, within a coherent framework based on a national strategy, emphasizing the large investments that Italian Government is making for promoting ports and logistics development as well as their connections to railway lines along these major axes.
The Minister and the Chinese Ambassador explored the possibility of bilateral collaboration on logistic infrastructures in Northern-Adriatic Ports, as it was already made by the Chinese Authorities along the Tyrrhenian ridge.
The Minister has then shown his availability to organize a meeting at expert level in order to explore the opportunities of collaboration in the framework of the OBOR project for promoting Italian ports development and their connections with the Ten-T European Corridors.
