Sandra Di Carlo: Experiences of Italian smart cities can be invaluable to Croatians

As an agency of the Italian government, ICE – Italian Trade Agency, the Department of the Embassy of Italy for the promotion of economic and trade exchange, supports the development of Italian companies abroad and promotes the attraction of foreign investments to Italy. A wide network of ICE’s foreign offices, consisting of 79 offices in 65 countries, provides information, assistance, consulting, promotion, and training to small and medium-sized enterprises and promotes the most important activities Made in Italy worldwide.

Sandra Di Carlo, director of the Zagreb office of the Italian Trade Agency, emphasizes that this office was established in 1956 and is one of the oldest foreign offices. She states that it is recognized among Croatian companies as an important institution promoting bilateral cooperation, which is why Italy is this year’s partner country at Lider’s ‘Smart Cities 2024’ conference, taking place on March 20 and 21 at the Westin Hotel in Zagreb.

How will you present Italy at Lider’s ‘Smart Cities 2024’ conference?

– Since I took over as director of ITA (Italian Trade Agency) in Zagreb, I have been following the work of the entrepreneurial weekly Lider with interest and approval. I was extremely honored when Italy was chosen as the partner country for this year’s ‘Smart Cities’ conference because it is an important gathering that brings together a professional audience from the urban infrastructure sector, mayors, entrepreneurs offering smart solutions, the academic community, and the public sector. Thanks to this partnership, Italian innovative experiences will also be presented on the panels, in lectures held by our guests, two key speakers from Italy. Professor Marko Bertogna from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, head of a laboratory and spinoff specializing in smart cities, will give a lecture on autonomous driving using the example of the technological solution Modena Automotive Smart Area, MASA, and will talk about the activities carried out by the National Center for Sustainable Mobility, MOST, introduced in business cooperation with various industrial partners such as Ferrari, Stellantis, Autostrade, Iveco, and others. On the topic of smart transition in Italian cities and modern methods for smart waste management, Alessandro Frulio, an expert with many years of experience in multidisciplinary research and development projects in information and communication technology (ICT), will speak. The smart waste management platform is designed to manage weighed and differentiated waste, allowing for the optimization of waste collection cycles, predicting the amount of waste produced by individual users, and detecting anomalies in disposal and emptying of containers.

How is the smart city strategy implemented in Italy? What is being invested in the most?

– Today, the smart city market in Italy is worth around 900 million euros, but a real explosion is expected in the coming years. I am convinced that the benefits of this expansion will be comprehensive: it is predicted that approximately two and a half million new jobs will be created in the smart city sector in Italy by 2029. What was recently considered a utopia is now becoming a reality. In the past year, 39 percent of municipalities with more than 15,000 inhabitants have launched at least one project in the areas of smart mobility and digitalization, smart construction, or smart city management based on sustainable strategies. Funds from the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) will accelerate the transitional process of creating smart cities. Thus, 5.3 billion euros will be allocated for urban regeneration and housing quality, two billion for digital services to citizens, 8.6 billion for ecological transition, and one billion euros for safer roads.

What are the economic relations between Croatia and Italy?

– Croatia and Italy cooperate very well economically, with Italy being Croatia’s first trading partner since 2022. In 2023, the total trade exchange with Italy amounted to 8.52 billion euros, with Italy holding a market share of 13.67 percent. Italy was also the first supplier to Croatia last year, valued at 5.73 billion euros and with a share of 14.5 percent, and the first Croatian export market, valued at 2.79 billion euros and with a market share of 12.2 percent.

In which direction can cooperation expand further?

– Croatian-Italian economic cooperation has potential for development in two key directions: the establishment of joint Italian-Croatian joint-venture companies and direct Italian investments related to new production and technological processes. As part of the development strategies for economic progress and national recovery and resilience plans, both the Croatian and Italian governments particularly support the development of the ICT sector and innovative solutions in the respective industries. The IT industry is a strong driver of the Croatian economy and encourages constant growth in productivity and employment. That is why Croatia is a very attractive destination for Italian equipment and technology, knowledge and experience (know-how), as well as the robotization and automation of processes in Industry 4.0.

Content created in collaboration with ICE – Italian Trade Agency.