The incident involving two marines, as well as strengthening the strategic partnership between Italy and India, were the focus of a meeting between Minister Giulio Terzi and his Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna, which was followed by a joint press conference.”Italy has jurisdiction in the incident involving the two Italian marines, which took place in international waters”, Terzi stated, expressing his hope that, in the course of the investigation, “the collaborative and positive spirit that has thus far emerged” would prevail. The Indian fishermen and the Italian marines “are victims of the same enemy: piracy”, Terzi underscored. The minister also expressed “his own condolences and those of the Italian people for the tragic loss of the two fishermen” and the hope that India and Italy would be able to continue working together to combat piracy. Terzi explained that, in regard to this incident, his intention in Indiawas to continue the work begun by Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Staffan De Mistura and all the other ministerial staff involved.The minister, who was accompanied to Delhi by a large Italian business contingent, is also scheduled to meet with Indian Minister for Trade and Industry Anand Sharma.
Ore 11.00 – Italy-India: Terzi to visit the marines in Kochi and convey encouragement of Napolitano and Monti
Arriving in New Delhi, Minister Giulio Terzi said that he would meet tomorrow at the Kochi guest house in Kerala with the two Italian marines being detained. “My main purpose is to visit our two servicemen in Kochi; I will leave immediately after my meeting with the ministers here in Delhi, and have every intention of getting to the bottom of this incident with the Indian authorities”, Terzi asserted, adding that he would convey the “greetings and encouragement of Head of State Giorgio Napolitano and Premier Mario Monti”. The minister underscored that he intended “to reassure the families of the two marines and make sure they know that the Italian people are anxiously awaiting the conclusion of the affair”, expressing the hope that it would be rapid in coming but that we mustn’t “deceive ourselves about the difficulties that exist”.
Terzi in Asia, first stop in India to relaunch the Italian economy and diplomacy
A long-planned visit to relaunch the Italian economy and diplomacy on the Asian continent but that, following the recent tensions, places the incident involving the two Italian marines arrested in Kerala at the top of the agenda. The minister’s busy tour, that will take him to India, Vietnam, Singapore and Istanbul, begins on Tuesday 28 February and concludes on Saturday 3 March. In New Delhi, the minister will examine the situation with Under-Secretary with extensive experience in international mediation Staffan De Mistura, special envoy in support of the delegation of representatives of the foreign, defence and justice ministries, who has been working for several days now on resolving the crisis. In recent days Terzi has asserted repeatedly the need to follow diplomatic procedure and avoid “acting hastily”. It is likely that he will dsicuss this in his meetings in New Delhi with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Foreign Minister Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna, with whom he spoke by telephone in the days immediately following the arrest of the two marines.
His second stop, in Vietnam, will focus more directly on the economy and trade relations. In Hanoi on Wednesday 29 February, the head of Italian diplomacy will meet with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh. The following day, Terzi will participate in the inauguration of the second Piaggio factory at Vinh Phuc in the presence of the firm’s President Roberto Colaninno. Economy and defence will be the focus of the minister’s talks in Singapore on Thursday 1 and Friday 2 March with Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam and Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen. Finally, on a visit to Istanbul on Saturday 3 March, Terzi will speak at a conference organized by the Aspen Institute on the geopolitical changes under way in the Middle East, which Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is also scheduled to attend.
