The post-election period and the minister’s return to the UN Security Council
While the political debate focused on the results of the March 4th elections, foreign policy activities continued in order to fulfill the international agenda. On Tuesday, Minister Alfano expressed his and the Italian people’s closeness and solidarity “for the earthquake that hit Papua New Guinea and that unfortunately continues to manifest itself through aftershocks. The casualty toll that is progressively emerging is dramatic.”
Austria’s proposal of a dual nationality for the German and Ladino-speaking population of Alto Adige went back to making the headlines. On Wednesday, Alfano informed that he had “given instructions to our Ambassador in Austria not to attend the meeting convened in Vienna next 23 March” to discuss this proposal. Alfano recalled: “As I have already repeated to my Austrian colleague Kneissl at the January meeting, any eventual discussion on the theme can only take place between Rome and Vienna and not, on an equalitarian basis, also with Bolzano, insofar as it is an Autonomous Province of the Italian Republic.” The minister went on to define the Autonomy Statute as “a widely appreciated model worldwide that must be preserved” and highlighted “the unfoundedness of the reasons brought forward by Vienna in defence of the dual citizenship, which is in contrast with the high level of protection and development of the minorities in Alto Adige, with the positive bilateral relations, with Italy’s and Austria’s common membership to the EU and with international law.”
The day ended with good news. The minister announced via Twitter the release for humanitarian reasons of Fabio and Filippo Galassi, two Italians detained in Equatorial Guinea since 2015. “We are now waiting for them to return to Italy safe and sound,” he said.
Thursday, 8 March, naturally began with a message for International Women’s Day and, in particular, with a special wish for all the women working at and for the Foreign Ministry in Rome and around the world. Minister Alfano wrote: “Women are the drivers of change, of peaceful conflict resolution, of combating poverty. This is the message that we want to send today.” He added: “By celebrating International Women’s Day, we want to promote the culture of respect, repeating my personal conviction that women can make the difference in managing the challenges posed by international peace and security. Unfortunately, they are still too few.”
On the same day, Minister Alfano flew to New York for two days of meetings at the United Nations. Alfano addressed the Security Council to illustrate the priorities of the Italian 2018 Chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The priorities include the political commitment to seek a solution to the Ukrainian crisis and to the protracted conflicts in the OSCE area and focusing greater attention on the challenges and opportunities arising from Mediterranean. When meeting with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Minister Alfano said that “human dignity is a key component of our liberty. It is the deep-rooted value both within the UN and the OSCE that best defines the long-term partnership between the two Organizations in preventing conflicts and promoting stability.”
In the weekend, the Minister returned to Rome.
