Within the activities and functions of MAECI and MIBACT several bilateral agreements are stipulated in the specific fields of culture, arts, education for younth, media and cultural heritage under the framework of corresponding UNESCO Conventions, including the UNESCO 2005 Convention for the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions.
Furthermore the Directorate General for Internationalization Policies and Trade Promotion (MAECI) operates a link with Regions, ICE Agency (Italian Trade Agency, ICA Agenzia per la promozione e l'internazionalizzazione delle imprese italiane), trade associations, Italian Chambers of Commerce abroad, Unioncamere (https://www.esteri.it/mae/it/politica_estera/commercio-internazionale/pr...).
The ICE Agency realizes on the basis of the Guidelines issued by the control room by the Ministry of Economic Development, alongside the extraordinary program of support for Made in Italy, managed directly by the Ministry. In this context, promotional actions are carried out with the forecast of medium and long-term results in innovative and high-tech sectors, such as bio-nanotechnologies, renewable energy, technologies in the field of environmental protection, design and planning, restoration and urban recovery, with the aim of supporting and strengthening the Italian system, intended as a synthesis of the creativity, planning and skills and specializations of the companies in the country.
From the need to develop an integrated promotion of companies in foreign markets, system Missions are born, which see the collaboration and involvement of several public and private subjects, such as the Ministry of Economic Development and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regions, Ice Agency, ABI (Associazione Bancaria Italiana) , Chamber of Commerce, Confindustria. They represent a new mode of cooperation, aimed at strengthening the Italian system abroad, through the joint participation of the main players in charge of internationalization.
Among the current cultural agreements stipulated, valid or recently renovated there are:
- Argentina (2019 - 2023);
- Australia;
- Belgium Com. Fiamminga/Com. French (1999 - 2002 - Still in force);
- Bulgaria (1996 - 1999 - Still in force);
- Chile (2002 - 2004 - Still in force);
- China (2015 - 2019);
- Colombia ( 2001 - 2005 - Still in force);
- Croatia ( 2015-2019);
- Denmarck (1993 - 1996 - Still in force);
- Ethiopia (2015 - 2019);
- Finland (2000 - 2005 - Still in force);
-France (1996 - 1999 - Still in force);
- Germany (2002 - 2005 - Still in force);
- Japan (2001 - 2004 - Still in force);
- Giordania (1996 - 1999 - Still in force);
- Great Britain (1992 - 1995 - Still in force);
- Greece (2017-2019);
- Algeria (2015 - 2018);
- India (2017-2020);
- Iran ( 2015 - 2018 - Still in force);
- Ireland (1996 - 1999 - Still in force);
- Luxembourg (1999 - 2002 - Still in force);
- Malta (2017 - 2019);
- Morocco (2019 - 2022);
- Mexico (2015 - 2018 - Still in force);
- Netherlands (1997 - 2000 - still in force);
- Panama (2000 - 2003 - Still in force);
- Poland (2016 - 2019);
- Portugal (2001 - 2004 - Still in force);
- Czech Republic (1998 - 2001 - Still in force);
- Republic of Moldova ( 2020-2022);
- Romania (2002 - 2005 - Still in force);
- Russian Federation (2019 - 2022);
- Senegal (1995 - 1998 - Still in force);
- Republic of Slovakia (2002 - 2005 - Still in force);
- Slovenia (2004 - 2007 - Still in force);
- Switzerland (2012 - 2014 - Still in force);
- Hungary (2000 - 2003 - Still in force);
- Uzbekistan (2019-2021);
- Vietnam (2018 - 2021).
Moreover, other cultural/scientific /educational agreements (www.esteri.it/mae/it/politica_estera/cultura/cooperculturale/programmies...) are stipulated with particular attention to the cultural and creative industries and involving the collaboration with the "Societa Dante Alighieri Institute", such us:
Saudi Arabia : Cultural and scientific 2001 - 2005 - still in force
Armenia: Cultural and scientific 2017-2020
Plurinational State of Bolivia: Cultural and scientific 1997-1999 - still in force
Canada- Quebec:Cultural, scientific and technological 2017-2019
Cuba: Cultural and scientific 2001 - 2004 - still in force
Georgia: Cultural, scientific and technological 2016-2020
Latvia: Cultural and scientific 2018-2020
Macedonia: Cultural and scientific 2016 - 2019
Mongolia: Cultural and Scientific 2017-2020 - English version
Tunisia: 2017-2020
Uruguay: 2019-2021
On the recommendation of the Ministry of Economic Development (MISE) the "Italian Trade and Investment Agency" (ITA https://www.ice.it/it) has created a project (since 2018) to present the opportunities arising from free trade agreements to Italian companies. The goal is to help increase the degree of use of the agreements in force and in the process of being implemented, which represent important opportunities to increase the internationalization of Italian companies. In particular, the project involved the following Agreements (https://www.ice.it/it/studi-e-rapporti/studi-sugli-accordi-di-libero-sca...):
- Global Economic and Trade Agreement | CETA
- The free trade agreement between the EU and South Korea
- The Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and Japan | EPA (updated in May 2019, after the agreement entered into force on February 1, 2019)
- The free trade agreement between the EU and Singapore
- The free trade agreement between the EU and Vietnam (EVFTA)