Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Benedetto Della Vedova and the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Michele Valensise, opened the Board Meeting of the Italy-Japan Foundation at the Farnesina today, 5 May 2014. The Foundation promotes Italian-Japanese relations through cultural, scientific and economic relations. Members include Chairman Umberto Vattani, the Foreign Ministry, and the Ministries of Culture and Tourism, Economic Development and Agricultural Policies, as well as numerous private sector enterprises.
“Italy has always engaged in close political-economic and cultural cooperation with Tokyo. Italian exports to Japan grew by 7% over the last year and we will be launching new initiatives in coming months, in the run-up to the 150th anniversary of diplomat relations between our two countries”, announced Under-Secretary Della Vedova.
Ambassador Valensise commented on the global challenges in this complex international situation. “We are cooperating closely with Japan on global governance”, he underscored. “Our fruitful dialogue with Tokyo can also be seen in the G7 context, not least in the light of today’s ministerial meeting on energy in Rome and the Brussels summit in early June’”.
