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ndonesia will welcome the first-ever Italian business mission to the country from May 6 to 8 as Italy turns its gaze toward the emerging markets to offset the slowdown in Europe.

Ambassador of Italy to Indonesia, Federico Failla, said the delegation of around 30 firms '€” including Italian banks '€” would explore the untapped potential in Indonesia to set up or extend presence in the country.

With a stable political and economic environment the country has been a magnet for a myriad of firms across the globe, including those from Italy seeking higher growth.

'€œWe see foreign companies come to Indonesia everyday since it is deemed a hotspot for overseas investment,'€ he told a limited media briefing on Friday in Jakarta.

Two-way trade amounted to ¤3.4 billion (US$4.46 billion) last year, with Italy importing goods and commodities worth ¤2.2 billion and exporting ¤1.2 billion.

'€œThere will be room for trade to expand. Knowledge of markets and investment will certainly help boost trade,'€ Failla said, adding that the current level of bilateral trade still did not reflect the full potential of both economies.

Italy has been far less active than other European countries, such as the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Switzerland or Norway, which have repeatedly sent business delegations to Indonesia in recent years, sometimes led by heads of state.

The firms included in the delegation were from a wide range of sectors, including energy, infrastructure, automotive, agro-industry, machinery, broadcasting and telecommunication.

The business delegation will engage in a bilateral business forum in Jakarta. Apart from the forum, Italian business associations will also organize business-to-business meetings and a banking seminar with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

As the Indonesian economy has expanded, infrastructure bottlenecks have become a key issue and Italian firms '€” known for their expertise in building an array of infrastructure projects, such as mass rapid transit systems, roads, tunnels, railways and waste water management '€” are expected to take part in providing the solutions.

In addition, Indonesia'€™s fast-growing automotive sector last year exceeded sales of 1 million units, offer further untapped potential for the Italian delegation.

Indonesia'€™s automotive industry has been dominated by Japanese brands for decades, but in recent years, non-Japanese manufacturers have begun to test the waters.

'€œItalian auto-components are sold all over the world. The idea is that they [Italian manufacturers] come here and discuss the possibility of producing here for the export [market],'€ he said.

Currently, Italian tire company Pirelli & C. S.p.A, is building a $120 million motorcycle tire plant in east Jakarta in collaboration with PT Astra Otoparts, a subsidiary of Indonesia'€™s major diversified group PT Astra International.

The plant, scheduled to operate in the second half of the year, will produce 7 million tires when it runs at full capacity in 2016, with part of the output allocated to serve the Asia-Pacific market.