-Excellence during the week of events at Italy Pavilion-

 OSAKA, May 20, 2025 /ANSA=Kyodo JBN/--

The week dedicated to Puglia has wrapped up at the Italy Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka.

The event highlighted the Region’s great role in supporting the Country System.

From hospitality to new economy sectors, including aerospace, many examples of excellence were brought by Puglia to Japan.

The tale of this long journey starts in the municipality of Grottaglie, which is set to witness the birth of a spaceport of primary relevance.

Puglia has cultivated for years its relationship with the aerospace sector thanks to a biannual convention with Mediterranean countries, the MAM (Mediterranean Aerospace Matching) – which pursues economic integration in this specific field.

And such a relationship was strengthened in Osaka with a challenge aimed at the construction of an integrated system for advanced air mobility based on innovation, cooperation and shared experiences.

The excellence of the Puglia Region was also on show through its culture, which was represented in Osaka by Pino Pascali’s oeuvre ‘9mp of puddles'.

Pascali, an artist from Polignano a Mare, is well known in Japan.

The public can admire his masterworks at the local National Museum of Modern Art.

Puglia’s culture was also on displace with the Orchestra La Notte della Taranta that involved thousands of visitors at the Italy Pavilion thanks to the rhythm of folk music.

And the connection between Puglia and Japan was symbolized by 'luminarie', or light decorations, one of the most ancient regional traditions, represented among others by the Municipality of Scorrano which hosts a Museum of Luminarie and is twinned with the Japanese city of Kobe.

Innovation was also a protagonist of events thanks to the formats Innovit and Esabic.

And innovation in the economic sector was on the agenda of the talk 'Invest in Puglia, the Region driving Smart Business Investments' which presented, among others, investments in the Region by NTT Data and the example of MERMEC Japan.

While NTT Data has recently invested 20 million euros in Puglia, MERMEC, which is part of the industrial group Angel Holding founded by Cav. Vito Pertosa, in Puglia, is active globally and boasts a long history of over 60 years, operating in different high-tech sectors, including rail, aerospace and digital mechatronics, in 73 countries. It employs more than 3,000 people, 70% of whom are highly qualified engineers, distributed across 21 countries. It opened a branch in Tokyo in 2017 and also inaugurated new headquarters in Osaka in 2024 with a laboratory for research and development.

The visibility granted by Expo 2025 Osaka is also an opportunity to boost Puglia’s exports: over the 2022-2024 period, the region exported to Japan goods worth between 221 and 269 million euros, while imports from Japan were worth between 7.8 and 13 million euros.

Such figures confirm the competitiveness of many of Puglia’s production chains – in particular in the automotive and agrifood sectors – in the Japanese market. Significant growth was also recorded in the aerospace sector, with exports growing by 52% in the same period. Typical agrifood products reported a positive trend as well, with exports worth 62 million euros in 2024. The results prove the Region is attractive, with a territory hosting more than 1,500 foreign multinationals.

“Puglia has been a great protagonist of the Italy Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka”, said the Commissioner General for Italy at Expo 2025 Osaka, Ambassador Mario Vattani.

“We are grateful to Governor (Michele) Emiliano, Councillor (Alessandro) Delli Noci and to their entire team because the Region has chosen to present itself in a coherent manner with Italy’s narrative at Expo: our culture, territories, extremely high-quality products and also a lot of technology”.

“The week dedicated to Puglia has wrapped up with important results at the Italy Pavilion of Expo Osaka, an extraordinary occasion to promote Puglia and its excellence to the rest of the world”, said the Councillor for Economic Development of the Puglia Region Alessandro Delli Noci.

“A week dedicated to the ‘Future of Community and of Mobility’ with the objective of raising the international community’s awareness on the impact of future mobility, promoting regional technological innovation and presenting opportunities of investment in Puglia’s aerospace sector and in the other strategic sectors for our economy.

“A Puglia with roots firmly planted in its history, in its traditions, with a very clear identity, which eyes the future, aerospace and innovation”, he concluded.

"Editorial initiative co-funded by the European Union for the Puglia Region with resources of PR Puglia FESR - FSE+ 2021-2027"

Source: Apulia Region