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Satyendra Pathak
Doha
Italy’s exports of food and beverages to Qatar increased 4 percent to 34 million euro in the first nine months of 2020 despite the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy, Italian Ambassador to Qatar HE Alessandro Prunas said on Monday.
Talking to Qatar Tribune on the sidelines of an event to launch ‘Week of Italian Cuisine in Qatar’, the envoy said that the trade exchange between Italy and Qatar especially in the food and beverages sector is very positive despite the ongoing pandemic.
“The Week of Italian Cuisine is an initiative started by the Italian government in order to support Italian culinary traditions and the Mediterranean diet abroad, specifically highlighting sustainability, food security and biodiversity. While Italian food and beverages are already very popular in Qatar, we are launching this initiative to promote a healthy lifestyle with the Mediterranean diet and ensure that the authentic Italian products are widely available in the country,” Prunas said.
Launched at the Italian Ambassador’s Residence in Doha, the week-long promotion will continue till November 29 and special initiatives have been taken by the Italian embassy in Doha and Italian Trade Agency (ITA), the trade promotion section of the embassy, to promote Italian cuisine at a number of restaurants in Qatar.
“Through this initiative, we also aim to enhance the global knowledge of authentic Made in Italy food,” said Prunas. “The Week of Italian Cuisine is also an opportunity to highlight the problems that still affect Italian food in the world. Even today, counterfeited products with billions of dollars are sold in the name of Italian products. This initiative is aimed at encouraging the spread of anti-counterfeiting and certification tools for restaurants dealing in Italian cuisine,” he said.
With the support of the Italian Embassy in Qatar, ITA has planned several activities so that the initiate covers all parts of Qatar and popularise Italian culinary traditions in the country. Some of the highlights of the programme include the promotion of the Mediterranean diet as a healthy lifestyle, discussions on products with registered and protected designation of origin, and imparting knowledge about Italian villages and their typical culinary products.
Speaking on the occasion, the envoy also highlighted the positive outcome of the ongoing year-long promotion of Italian products organised by ITA in collaboration with LuLu Hypermarket. The promotion, which aims to increase the sales of Italian food products in Qatar, will run until September 2021. “This partnership is very important for us as our food and agriculture exports to Qatar have increased substantially in first nine months of this year despite the challenges of COVID-19 around the world,” he said.
“If we can manage to have our exports increase under the current circumstances, I am sure we will witness far better results once the normalcy is resumed. We look forward to developing this bond further with Qatar,” Prunas said.
ITA Trade Commissioner Giosafat Rigano, who also spoke to media on the occasion, said that initiatives like ‘Week of Italian Cuisine in Qatar’ will open more opportunities to boost the supply of Italian products to Qatar.
Doha
Italy’s exports of food and beverages to Qatar increased 4 percent to 34 million euro in the first nine months of 2020 despite the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy, Italian Ambassador to Qatar HE Alessandro Prunas said on Monday.
Talking to Qatar Tribune on the sidelines of an event to launch ‘Week of Italian Cuisine in Qatar’, the envoy said that the trade exchange between Italy and Qatar especially in the food and beverages sector is very positive despite the ongoing pandemic.
“The Week of Italian Cuisine is an initiative started by the Italian government in order to support Italian culinary traditions and the Mediterranean diet abroad, specifically highlighting sustainability, food security and biodiversity. While Italian food and beverages are already very popular in Qatar, we are launching this initiative to promote a healthy lifestyle with the Mediterranean diet and ensure that the authentic Italian products are widely available in the country,” Prunas said.
Launched at the Italian Ambassador’s Residence in Doha, the week-long promotion will continue till November 29 and special initiatives have been taken by the Italian embassy in Doha and Italian Trade Agency (ITA), the trade promotion section of the embassy, to promote Italian cuisine at a number of restaurants in Qatar.
“Through this initiative, we also aim to enhance the global knowledge of authentic Made in Italy food,” said Prunas. “The Week of Italian Cuisine is also an opportunity to highlight the problems that still affect Italian food in the world. Even today, counterfeited products with billions of dollars are sold in the name of Italian products. This initiative is aimed at encouraging the spread of anti-counterfeiting and certification tools for restaurants dealing in Italian cuisine,” he said.
With the support of the Italian Embassy in Qatar, ITA has planned several activities so that the initiate covers all parts of Qatar and popularise Italian culinary traditions in the country. Some of the highlights of the programme include the promotion of the Mediterranean diet as a healthy lifestyle, discussions on products with registered and protected designation of origin, and imparting knowledge about Italian villages and their typical culinary products.
Speaking on the occasion, the envoy also highlighted the positive outcome of the ongoing year-long promotion of Italian products organised by ITA in collaboration with LuLu Hypermarket. The promotion, which aims to increase the sales of Italian food products in Qatar, will run until September 2021. “This partnership is very important for us as our food and agriculture exports to Qatar have increased substantially in first nine months of this year despite the challenges of COVID-19 around the world,” he said.
“If we can manage to have our exports increase under the current circumstances, I am sure we will witness far better results once the normalcy is resumed. We look forward to developing this bond further with Qatar,” Prunas said.
ITA Trade Commissioner Giosafat Rigano, who also spoke to media on the occasion, said that initiatives like ‘Week of Italian Cuisine in Qatar’ will open more opportunities to boost the supply of Italian products to Qatar.
