Governor Healey, Mayor Wu embark on trade trip to Italy

Governor Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu are traveling to Italy this week, with stops in Rome and Vatican City.

Both are attending a climate summit at the Vatican, hosted by Pope Francis.

“I’m excited for this opportunity to showcase Massachusetts’ climate and economic leadership on the global stage, and to make the case for why businesses should consider starting and growing in our state,” said Governor Healey. “Massachusetts deeply values our close relationship with Italy and the Vatican City State, and we see this trip as an excellent opportunity to strengthen ties and strategize on future opportunities for collaboration.”

Healey’s first stop is on Tuesday morning at a closed press event with business leaders at the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy Business Roundtable.

Healey and Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer will also meet on Tuesday with the Ambassador to the Holy See, which is also closed to the press.

On Wednesday, Healey will give a keynote address at the opening session of the Vatican Climate Summit: From Climate Crisis to Climate Resilience. Mayor Wu is also attending that summit. Mayor Wu will give remarks for a discussion called “Governance, Energy,” according to her office.

The governor’s office says Healey will “highlight Massachusetts’ global climate leadership, particularly in the emerging industry of climatetech, and announce a new initiative to grow the climate workforce.”

On Thursday, Governor Healey, UMass Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco and Ram Ramanathan will participate in “Highlights and the Way Forward, during which they will reflect on the sub-regional summits that took place during the course of the summit,” according to her office.

The Healey administration says the session will end with proposals from all mayors and governors on the next steps.

Healey and Mayor Wu will also have an audience with Pope Francis on Thursday.

On Saturday, Wu’s office says the mayor will visit Sulmona, “a town with strong ties through immigration to Boston’s North End; and attend a commemorative event in Coreno Ausonio, where her children will see the hometown that their great great-grandparents emigrated from.”

Italy is Massachusetts’ 10th-largest global trading partner, with a total of $2.05 billion in trade between the state and country in 2023, Healey’s office said. The administration highlighted Italian companies that maintain operations in Massachusetts, including Enel North America and Piaggio Fast Forward. Healey will also connect Tuesday with U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Joe Donnelly, a former Democrat member of Congress from Indiana.

Material from the State House News Service was used in this report.

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