The “Statistical Yearbook 2020 – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in figures” has been published today. ” Each year, the document provides data on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ commitment to serving Italy in the world. It is a working tool for foreign policy operators, as well as institutional counterparts and civil society, which contains a wide range of useful information for understanding the work of the Ministry and its network abroad: from those relating to structure and resources to the activities carried out and the services offered.
“This Statistical Yearbook is a snapshot of the Foreign Affairs network and, simultaneously, mirrors the role that Italy can play at world level”, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Elisabetta Belloni, explains in the foreword. “We live in a world of networks,” Secretary General Belloni notes. “With its 301 offices spread in 128 countries around the world, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) is probably the Public Administration most familiar with the importance and potential that a network can express, in particular in the complex and competitive context of international relations”. “The network of our offices abroad – Belloni continues – is a valuable tool, the showcase of the Italian System in the world, the voice of Italy in the forum of multilateral cooperation and foreign capitals, the gateway for many foreign citizens who want to enter our territory, as well as an active tool to protect the ever-growing community of Italians abroad, and the driving force behind the export of our companies”. A network that represents a fundamental instrument to guarantee rights and services: “We have demonstrated it concretely this year, during the pandemic, thanks to the long-lasting extraordinary commitment of the Crisis Unit and of all the Embassies and Consulates that have done their best to bring back to Italy over 110,000 compatriots from 121 countries thanks to 1,182 air, sea and land operations”, the Secretary-General explains.
Just a few figures about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: in 2019 there were 297 institutional visits; 6,093,729 Italians registered in the consular registry; 2,040,175 entry visas to Italy issued; 405,317 passports issued by the consular network; 47, 639 interventions of protection and assistance in favour of fellow countrymen abroad; 60,403 people enrolled in Italian language courses at the Italian Cultural Institutes; 146,000 followers of the Twitter profile; 112,000 of the Facebook page and over 9 million views of the website esteri.it
