The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Paolo Gentiloni, will be addressing the Aspen Southeast Europe Foreign Ministers’ Conference taking place today in Berlin. Now in its 7th edition, the conference is organised by Aspen Institute Germany with Auswaertiges Amt, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Embassy in Berlin, which will host the proceedings.
The event will provide an opportunity to exchange views with and between the countries of the western Balkans on the European and Euro-Atlantic integration process in the region and on the Balkans route for migration flows.
The choice of Italy as partner country in this year’s edition reflects our country’s pro-active and driving role in strengthening dialogue and regional cooperation in the western Balkans.
Italy’s central as a strategic political and economic partner of the countries of the region is confirmed by our country’s constant presence in regional fora for dialogue, the Central European Initiative (CEI), and the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative (AII). Italy’s key role is also confirmed by the launch of innovative initiatives at the regional level, such as the EU strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian Region, the Italy-Serbia-Albania Foreign Affairs Trilateral of January 2015, and our country’s inclusion from this year in the “Berlin Process”. The Berlin Process is promoted by Germany as a forum for coordination and discussion on areas of common interest, in particular infrastructure, connectivity and energy in the western Balkans.
