The Piemonte region in Northern Italy , is an attractive locale for Israelis because (1) There is a Prosperous  and  Strongly entrenched Jewish community in its capital, Torino, and (2) Torino is ideally located as a launching pad into the Euro market. 
There is a 5 min Video at the Website.       http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/139882

Arutz Sheva; Israel National News Service; by Yoni Kempinski;  Tuesday, October 5 2010

The Piemonte region in Northern Italy , whose capital is Torino, is strengthening its economic ties with Israel. For the first time a delegation headed by the Torino Chamber of Commerce, jointly with the Piemonte Agency for Investments, Export and Tourism and R&D Institutes are in Israel with the objective of accelerating partnerships with Israeli companies, with special emphasis on technological sectors. 

Piemonte Region is one of the most vibrant industrial regions in Europe with 468,000 registered companies, 127 billion Euros GDP, 27 billion Euros exports and 2.3 billion Euros R&D investments, ranking first in Italy for R&D investments coming from private companies. It attracts 20 percent of overall Italian private investments.

Piemonte boasts over 200 R&D centers, both private and public, 380 laboratories, four full-fledged universities  and six science and technology parks and incubators.

The delegation held a conference in Tel Aviv Monday, in which they presented the range of economic capacities in Torino Piemonte to an audience of Israeli businessmen, investors, and technology professionals and executives, highlighting future development potential. Main areas on which the delegation focused included: technological applications to market the food & wine industry, ICT and Satellite Navigation and life sciences. 

According to Mr. Guido Bolatto, Secretary General of the Torino Chamber of Commerce, "Israel is becoming more and more a reference market for our initiatives. The Italian market is eager for new technologies, and the Piemonte region considers Israeli companies ideal partners for cooperation. Two years ago we started working with the Israel-Italy Chamber of Commerce to encourage fruitful relationships between Piedmontese and Israeli companies. To do so, our representatives attended some international events in Israel, and recently we hosted in Torino a number of Israeli business delegations of several sectors, such as ICT, aerospace, environmental technologies and industrial design. The success obtained leaded us here to strengthen our presence and our ties with the country and foster new business opportunities." 

Gaia Molcho, Secretary General of the Israel-Italy Chamber of Commerce, adds,  "Whereas in the past every Israeli company aspired to reach the American market, nowadays Italy in particular may serve as a unique bridge to the overall European market, and Piemonte is one of the most attractive regions with good potential for bilateral business."
 

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