Possible collaborations between Friuli Venezia Giulia and the state of Virginia range from cyber security to agriculture and life sciences.

The mission that brought an institutional delegation and eight US companies to the region ended yesterday, 2 October. An operation "under the banner of the excellent relations at the operational level between the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region and such an important American state. There is, on the part of both territories, the will to strengthen common interests," recalled Governor Massimiliano Fedriga in announcing the second trade mission organised by the Virginia Small Business Development Center (Virginia Sbdc) after the success of the first edition, in continuity with the bilateral agreement signed in October 2024 by Fedriga himself and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.

The Enterprises

Eight US companies - Ensco Microsearch (security), SweetScience (promotion), Laser Thermal (materials engineering), Jeeva and Liquet (life sciences), Spanalytics (ICT and cybersecurity), Opswat (cybersecurity) and Oransi (industry 4.0) - coordinated by Virginia Sbdc and put in contact with the regional economic system - took part in this 2025 mission. In the same days, an institutional delegation from Virginia arrived in Friuli Venezia Giulia, composed of the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Matthew Lohr and the Director of Marketing and Development of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Robert Davenport, the contact person for the agricultural sector in the bilateral agreement.

The schedule of meetings - organised by Select Friuli Venezia Giulia in collaboration with the Regional Directorates for Labour, Productive Activities, Agriculture, Health and Heritage, with the Life Sciences Cluster and with tutoring and mentoring activities - included an agenda of appointments with the support of Confindustria Alto Adriatico and Confindustria Udine, as well as Confapi.

The Results

"The Region,' Fedriga explained, 'has activated its entire system to show what Friuli Venezia Giulia can offer,' emphasising that the mission represents a further step towards strengthening economic and trade relations with Virginia and promoting new opportunities for business collaboration.

The collaboration,' he added, 'has led to fruitful opportunities for meetings between the production and scientific research system of our territory and overseas realities. The first investments have already taken place, but the aim is to strengthen this collaboration more and more. This is an important economic opportunity for our production system, but also a strategic choice, because strengthening the ties between western democracies means consolidating an alliance that stems from the decisions of national governments, but can be further developed through cooperation between territories. This makes it possible to create new opportunities and solid relations, destined to last over time'.

Face-to-face meetings, company visits and networking activities took place.

Agriculture

As far as agriculture is concerned, Lohr and Davenport met with regional institutions and the research system, and with strategic production companies, including the Rauscedo Cooperative Nurseries and the University of Udine, with a focus on viticulture and plant diseases.

One aspect emphasised by the regional councillor for agri-food, forestry and fishing resources Stefano Zannier, who welcomed the delegation, is the possibility of a direct comparison between companies. 'This meeting allows us to create a real match between US and regional companies. The possible business models are manifold, as are the common interests, because the topics addressed range over different production areas and development sectors. The path that has been started will continue in the coming days with further moments of confrontation directly in our companies, research centres, universities, and in the industrial and production system of Friuli Venezia Giulia, allowing us to expand the opportunities for collaboration. The shared interests are numerous: now it will be important to work together to make them concrete, generating new opportunities for both realities on both sides of the Atlantic'.