Rome has moved swiftly to protect Italian companies from the crisis triggered by Yemen-based Houthi attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea and "stands alongside companies operating abroad", foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday.
"The government stands alongside companies operating abroad, even in crisis situations that need to be tackled systematically," Tajani told a roundtable in Rome on the consequences of the Red Sea crisis for Italy's economy.
Italy played a leading role in the swift launch on 19 February of the European Union's Aspides naval mission to escort and shield merchant ships in the Red Sea region from attack by Iran-backed Houthi militiamen.
"It (Italy) s playing a key role in re-establishing safety and freedom of navigation in the region," said Tajani.
"We will do everything to protect the Italian merchant shipping and our economy from the consequences of this crisis,” he underlined.
Economic security is increasingly crucial for Italy and for Europe in a global scenario impacted by various "risk factors", Tajani said.
Risks include the widening conflict in the Middle East sparked by Hamas' deadly 7 October cross-border attack and the resulting war between Israel and the Islamist Palestinian group in Gaza, Tajani noted.
"The economic costs linked to the Red Sea crises are very high: the maritime route through the Suez Canal is crucial for Italian exports," Tajani underlined.
"There is a danger of traffic being diverted from Asia to Europe, to the detriment of Italian ports and related businesses," he said, noting that rountable co-chairman, industry minister Adolfo Urso had underlined these risks.
Before the current Red Sea crisis, Italy’s commercial traffic through the Suez Canal amounted to 148 billion euros or 42.7% of the country’s maritime trade and 11.9% of its total foreign trade, according to the statement.
Since the Houthi attacks began in October, however, some shipping companies have shunned the Red Sea route, opting to make much longer, costlier journey from Asia via South Africa, threatening to marginalise Mediterranean ports including Italy's.
"We are working to prevent the risks of the Red Sea crisis becoming a permanent hazard and to safeguard Italy's central role in global routes, confirming our role as Europe’s logistics hub in the Mediterranean,"" Tajani concluded.
