(by Cristiana Missori) (ANSA) - TRIESTE, MAR 18 - ''We want to invest more in the Adriatic-Baltic axis, improve rail link between Austria, Carinthia, and Friuli Venezia Giulia''. That is what the vice president of the Austrian Federal Chamber of Economy, Jurgen Roth, Jurgen Roth, said at the conference ''Trieste City-Port: 300 years of free port''. The meeting opened the celebrations for the foundation of the Free Port, recalling the close ties between Austria and Italy. The trade between the two countries totaled almost 20 billion euros (up 5.6%) in 2018. Austrian export to Italy, Roth underlined, ''grew by 4.7 %, reaching 9.8bn euros; Italian exports to Austria reached 9.9bn euros. Italy is our second- biggest trading partner after Germany and also the trade volume between Fvg and Austria has good results''. In this context, the past and present of the port of Trieste are intertwined. Since the reign of the far-sighted Emperor Charles VI, who established the Free Port on March 18, 1719, Austria intends to play a leading role. ''The port of Trieste is a great opportunity for bilateral growth. There are 25 Austrian companies interested in investing in the port of Trieste'', said Roth. Zeno D'Agostino, president of the Port System Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea (Trieste), announced the signing of two memoranda of understanding with the Austrian Railways, OEBB, and Rail Cargo Austria (RCA), this afternoon at the Authority's headquarters. The president of the Land Carinthia, Peter Kaiser, pointed out that ''Austria and Carinthia aim to strengthen the link with Italy but also the duty-free areas'' and the Austrian Railways CEO, Andreas Mattha, promised: ''My goal is also to establish direct rail links between the Fvg area and Vienna''. The honorary consul of Austria for the Fvg, Sabrina Strolego, said that ''Trieste is undoubtedly a point of reference for Austria and for all of Central Europe, the East and beyond''. The trade between Fvg and the neighboring country recorded a balance of around 1.3bn euros in 2018, supported by a good performance of Fvg exports, totaling about 92m euros (up 12%). (ANSA).