Italy is strengthening its economic and strategic ties with Chile as Deputy Foreign Minister Maria Tripodi wraps up a business mission to Latin America, combining commercial diplomacy with talks on energy, investment and security cooperation.
The visit to Santiago highlights Rome’s push to turn political relationships into industrial partnerships, with Italian companies seeking opportunities in strategic sectors across Latin America.
Why it matters:
- Economic diplomacy: Italy is using business forums and institutional engagement to expand commercial opportunities for its companies abroad, with government supporting the internationalization effort.
- Strategic sectors: Energy transition, mining, infrastructure, agribusiness, agricultural machinery and advanced technologies are central to the bilateral agenda.
- Security cooperation: Rome and Santiago are also strengthening dialogue on transnational organized crime and drug trafficking.
Zoom in: The Chile opportunity. Chile is Italy’s third-largest export destination in Latin America. Bilateral trade has exceeded €2.1 billion, growing 7.7% in the first half of 2026, while Italian investments in the country have reached approximately €11 billion.
- Ahead of the first Chile–Italy Business Forum, Tripodi met with representatives of the Italian business community, outlining opportunities in renewable energy, mining, public infrastructure, healthcare solutions and technological innovation.
- “The ambition is to develop industrial and technological partnerships, creating value in both countries,” Tripodi said.
The Business Forum, with SIMEST (among SACE and CDP) playing a role in supporting business engagement, provided a platform to translate those priorities into closer economic ties.
- Tripodi also held bilateral meetings with Chilean Energy Minister Ximena Rincón and Undersecretary for Trade Paula Weinstein, focusing on renewables, investments, bilateral trade and follow-up initiatives from the forum.
Beyond business: A security partnership. Tripodi met General Marcelo Araya Zapata, commander of Chile’s Carabineros, to discuss security cooperation and legal diplomacy.
- Italy, she said, will continue supporting joint projects against transnational organized crime.
- The discussions also revealed what Tripodi described as strong alignment on major bilateral issues, particularly the fight against organized crime and narcotics trafficking.
The regional angle. The Chile mission fits into Italy’s broader effort to strengthen economic engagement with Latin America.
- Rome is also looking to expand trade opportunities through the EU–Mercosur agreement, with Italian exports to Mercosur markets rising 21%, as previously reported by Decode39.
- Chile is a separate market from Mercosur, but the two tracks reflect the same Italian priority: using trade diplomacy to diversify export destinations and deepen industrial partnerships.
The bottom line: Tripodi’s Santiago meetings underscore the growing role of economic diplomacy in Italy’s Latin American strategy. By connecting government dialogue, business forums and internationalization instruments, Rome is seeking to convert established commercial ties into longer-term industrial cooperation.
(Photo: X, @tripodimaria)
