A “new cycle has begun” in Latin America that prompts reflection on how to interpret “trends that Italy could get in on and even make a difference”, asserted Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Mario Giro in a speech at the first meeting of the Italy-Latin America Table at the foreign ministry in Rome. An occasion “intended as an encounter and a debate in which to examine the needs and sensibilities of the entire System Italy with regard to this important continent”, Giro explained, describing a “multidisciplinary commitment” that could lead to broader participation. This is “a table for sharing, to bring forward ideas and outline policy priorities and trends that Italy could get in on and even make a difference”.
Year of Italy in Latin America 2015-2016
The table is in preparation for the 7th Italy-Latin America Conference to be held in Milan in 2015 in conjunction with the EXPO and organised by the Italo-Latin American Institute (IILA), and which is “our farthest-reaching political instrument” on that continent. As is also the Year of Italy in Latin America, whose 2015-2016 goal, according to Vincenzo Grassi of the Directorate General for Country Promotion, will be “not only to set up events that attract the public but also initiatives that last over time and involve the world of culture as well as business and major university institutions”.
