Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Cirielli concluded a mission to Strasbourg today. In his meetings with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, and the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Despina Chatzivassiliou, he confirmed Italy’s strong support for the work of the organisation in the areas of human rights, democracy and the rule of law and the defence of the common values underpinning European identity. Great attention was also paid to current international scenarios, in which the Council of Europe – in its intergovernmental and parliamentary dimension – can make a contribution, for example in support of Ukraine and in the regional framework of the Caucasus.
“Italy has a long history of intense cooperation with the Council of Europe, which we are firmly committed to strengthening and promoting”, the Deputy Minister commented, recalling that 2025 will mark the 75th anniversary of the signing in Rome of the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as the 35th anniversary of the Venice Commission and the 25th anniversary of the Florence Convention on the Protection of the Landscape.
On the sidelines of his visit to the Council of Europe, Deputy Minister Cirielli spoke at two events at the European Parliament, the first on migration and the second dedicated to Central Asia, in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan, Edil Baisalov. Also in view of the forthcoming EU-Central Asia Summit in Samarkand, the Deputy Minister emphasised the Italian and European commitment “not only on a bilateral level, but also on a regional level, aimed at strengthening the interconnections between the countries of Central Asia themselves, as well as with the rest of the world – a commitment that has long been the result of a well-considered choice, which recognises the growing geo-strategic weight of the region as a natural bridge between Europe and Asia”.