Despite all the negative news out of Italy we have to remember that the boot is one of the world’s largest economies with a strong manufacturing sector.  With that manufacturing comes a driven research and development business culture that focuses on everything from wireless communications to solar energy.

Speaking of solar, watch for Qatar to integrate closer with the Korea of Europe, Italy (I say that because the countries have a lot in common, from geography to a boisterous temperament.  As The Peninsula’s Francesca Astorri reports, Francesco Profumo the president of the Italian National Council of Research (CNR), stated at a conference:

“We believe in investing in Qatar because the country is growing, it has a small dimension but a robust one, and it’s building a post-oil era future, that means investing in R&D . . . “Ten students per year will come from Italy to Qatar and now we hope to welcome Qatari students in Italy too in order to consolidate our relation. Now we are working on wireless telecommunications, but I see an interest also in environment, energy and infrastructure, so I hope to be able to start up projects also in these sectors."

The countries launched a graduate student exchange program and most likely the cooperation will accelerate. From water technologies to clean energy, Qatar is building itself as a model for how to build an economy during an era where resources are becoming more scarce and expensive.

About The Author

Leon Kaye

Leon Kaye is the founder and editor of GreenGoPost.com and its advisory division, GGP Media. Contact him to discuss how he can work with your organization or event. His focus is making the business case for sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR). He writes for San Francisco-based Triple Pundit, Inhabitat and now The Guardian, for which he writes about corporate responsibility, water, and green building. He has also written for AIA's Architect Magazine. Leon works out of Fresno and Silicon Valley, California, and when he has free time, he enjoys hiking, gardening, cooking, weightlifting, and planning his next trip to one of the 60 countries he has visited. He has an MBA from USC's Marshall School of Business and is also a proud graduate of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) and Cal State-Fresno.