(AGI) Rome, Sept 1 - Agriculture is key to revitalising acountry, said Venezuela's Vice-Minister for Europe AlejandroFleming. He was speaking in Rome after attending VenezuelaNational Day at Expo 2015 in Milan. "Just as Europe hasdeveloped around its agricultural policy, thanks to renewedcooperation with Italy, Venezuela will be able to furtherdevelop its own economy", he added. Mr Fleming is in Rome for ameeting with UnderSecretary to the Council of Ministers withresponsibility for European Affairs, Sandro Gozi, and ForeignUnderSecretary Mario Giro. Mr Fleming, who is also Venezuela'sDeputy Foreign Minister and Minister for Trade and Tourism,told AGI that Venezuela "has indissoluble historical andcultural ties with Italy, and it is thus my first port of callon my European tour." His recent appointment to Europe is alsotaking him on a visit to the German, Portuguese and Frenchauthorities. "I spoke especially about our bilateral relationswith Gozi and Giro, with a view to bolstering ties between thetwo countries. The cooperation between Italy and Venezuela isvery dynamic, but economic and commercial exchanges need to bestepped up, especially in the technology sector, and Italy canachieve great things." The idea is to launch a jointcommission, based in Italy, possibly in Rome, in 2016. "It isnow up to the two embassies to find directions of co-operationfor development by both countries." The priority remains food,however: "Venezuela must ratchet up its agricultural activitiesand Italy already has cooperation programmes in place,especially in the agricultural sector." The Venezuelan economyis heavily reliant on oil, which accounts for around 94 percentof export income. Agriculture accounts for less than 4 percentof GDP. (AGI). .