Treviso, October 20, 2025 — Today, Treviso, Castelbrando Cison di Valmarino, is hosting the ninth edition of the PYMES Forum, an international platform for economic cooperation between Europe and Latin America dedicated to the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises.
The event is an important occasion for institutions, businesses, and international guests, with the aim of strengthening ties between the two continents through innovation, green and digital transition, and productive partnerships.
The IX Foro PyMES stems from a shared commitment formalized in April 2024 in Montevideo with the MAECI and stands out for:
- High-level institutional participation between Italian and Latin American representatives.
- Involvement of foreign companies through the network of Italian Chambers of Commerce abroad.
- B2B meetings and company visits to promote Veneto’s excellence and stimulate new synergies.
- Plenary meeting to define common international development strategies.
All this was preceded by a preparatory process with four international webinars organized in June and July in collaboration with Assocamerestero.
Latin America: a strategic partner for Veneto
Latin America is one of the most dynamic economic areas for Veneto exports:
- almost €7 billion in exports to non-EU countries, with growth of +32%;
- over €2 billion in trade with Mexico and Brazil, which is expanding rapidly;
- in the first half of 2025, Treviso recorded €7.7 billion in exports and Belluno €2.6 billion.
New global balances
The expansion of the BRICS marks the emergence of an increasingly multipolar economic world. In this scenario, Latin America confirms itself as a natural partner for Veneto, thanks to a shared entrepreneurial culture and a strong desire for collaboration based on innovation, sustainability, and mutual trust.
A network for growth
The PyMES Forum in Treviso was organized by
- the Treviso-Belluno|Dolomiti Chamber of Commerce, IILA, MAECI in collaboration with
Unioncamere, Assocamerestero, ICE, SACE, and SIMEST, in partnership with Venicepromex.
SMEs are not small businesses, but major players in change. Veneto and Italy speak to the world with a vision of development based on ethics, quality, and trust-said President Mario Pozza in his capacity as President of Assocamerestero, Treviso-Belluno|Dolomiti Chamber of Commerce, and Venicepromex, who strongly supported the event.
The time is ripe: Latin America and Italy can be true strategic partners-said Ambassador Ligia Margarita Quessep Bittar during her speech. It is not just a matter of attracting investment, but of building authentic partnerships. Latin America has the educational, entrepreneurial, and technological level to offer concrete collaborations to Italian small and medium-sized enterprises.
The Ambassador then issued a direct invitation-Come and get to know us, visit our countries and discover the opportunities we can offer. Finally, she recalled the important event to be held in Santa Marta (Colombia), an opportunity to discuss not only foreign policy, but also enterprise, business and joint development.
Over the last three years, we have strengthened the link between Italian Chambers of Commerce Abroad and Italian companies, with a particular focus on micro and small businesses, which account for over 95% of the country’s productive fabric– said Unioncamere President Andrea Prete.
Latin America is a strategic market, with trade exceeding €30 billion, and offers great opportunities for growth. It is essential to coordinate initiatives and support Italian companies—even those that have already experimented with occasional exports—to become regular and structured exporters.
During the event, the President of the Treviso-Belluno | Dolomiti Chamber of Commerce, Mario Pozza, signed an agreement with the President of the Santafé Chamber of Commerce aimed at the exchange of economic information, partnerships, and trade.
