The Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Thank you for visiting the Foreign Ministry’s website.
We’ve tried to organise the information on our portal in a way that illustrates as clearly and intuitively as possible who we are and what we do. Our key aim, however, is to inform you of the services we offer and provide you with easy access to those services.

Our Ministry is very large and its structure highly complex. We’ve tried to provide as much information as possible, without forgetting anything. But we hope, naturally, that if we have forgotten anything then you’ll let us know. We welcome your comments and suggestions.

You can contact us at cdr@esteri.it
 
Who are we and what do we do
 
The Foreign Ministry is responsible for the State’s functions, tasks and duties in matters concerning Italy’s political, economic, social and cultural relations with other countries.

Our duty, therefore, is to ensure that the international and European activities of Italy’s other ministries and government offices are consistent with the country’s international policy objectives.

The current Foreign Minister is Giulio Terzi.

Our Ministry operates through a network of 319 offices throughout the world: embassies, permanent missions to the international organisations, special diplomatic delegations, consular offices and Italian cultural institutes.

The Foreign Ministry’s principal sectors of intervention are:

International relations (especially establishing closer relations with he emerging economies, enhancing Italy’s contribution to international security and contributing to our country’s energy security);

Representing and promoting the Italian position in the European integration process (most notably the implementation of the European Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), as well as the European Union’s foreign political and economic relations);

Support for enterprise (economic-commercial questions, promoting the “Made in Italy” brand and supporting Italian businesses abroad;

Promoting the Italian language and culture abroad (through Italian schools, scholarships and grants for foreign citizens, language courses organised by the Italian Cultural Institutes; and archaeological missions)

Support and services for Italians abroad (through the consular register office, assistance and protection for residents and tourists, intervention in emergencies, consular services, help for Italian prisoners abroad and assistance in cases involving international child abduction);

Entry visas to Italy (visas may be issued for tourism, business, subordinate employment, family (joining other family member/s), study and transit);

Development Cooperation (with the double objective of ensuring that human rights are protected and fostering the economic growth of all peoples);

Communication and information (for the institutions, the media and citizens; information is provided by the political leadership, the Press and Institutional Communication Service and the Office for Relations with the Public).