Gros-Pietro at B7 Summit: Global economy at a turning point

In his speech at the B7 Summit organised by Confindustria, Chairman Gian Maria Gros-Pietro indicated three priorities areas for sustainable growth of the global economy, while shaping an equitable future for our societies:

• “Strengthening the global value chains, by making them more competitive and sustainable, while incentivizing the participation of small and medium enterprises”: global value chains are a growth engine, also because they provide an opportunity for SMEs to upscale their business models and grow local economies
• “Creating sustainable infrastructures at the service of quality life”: hospitals, schools, universities and research centres are essential for accelerating innovation and real economy growth, while also enabling a just social and green transition
• “High quality and inclusive education”: reskilling of workers as well as the possibility of cultivating the talent of the future are needed to speed technology adoption and the transition to zero emissions, by expanding access to quality education for students from diverse backgrounds.

These priorities stem from the realisation, as Gros-Pietro underscored, that “the global economy finds itself at a turning point. Geopolitical tensions and new challenges from green and digital transformation are widening growth and productivity divergences.”

In this context, according to Gros-Pietro, “banks have the responsibility to accelerate alternative & real asset impact investing to enable the deployment of international projects, able to generate a social and/or environmental return in addition to a financial return.”

Intesa Sanpaolo is Main Partner of B7 Italy 2024, which aims to formulate policy recommendations on the priorities of the global economic agenda to be addressed to the Presidency of the G7 and the main international organizations and institutions.