(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JUN 17 - "We strongly believe in the future of this infrastructural, commercial, and political project that will connect India to Trieste," said Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, concluding the conference "The Imec project: Italy as a protagonist of Indo-Mediterranean routes that decide the future," organised by the Foreign Affairs department of FI at the Chamber. "Trieste, said Tajani, has always been the port of Central European countries and the Balkans, and the Balkans have already stated that they want to connect with the railway to Trieste." "We need to start working now," he said, "to make people understand the importance of the Cotton Route, an extraordinary opportunity for our companies and for a country like ours, with great capabilities in sectors such as submarine cables and railways." The minister emphasised the importance of the Cotton Route for the entire Middle East. "Once the war was over, those countries would become targets for commercial development." (ANSA).