On behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hon. Antonio Tajani, the Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hon. Giorgio Silli, participated in the 28th Ibero-American Summit, held in Santo Domingo from 22 to 25 March 2023.
The Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the 22 Member States, of which Italy is an observer-associated country, provided an opportunity to emphasise how “Latin America and the Caribbean are major partners for Italy in terms of values and interests, as well as ties of a historical, political, social, economic and cultural nature”.
On the sidelines of the Summit, the Undersecretary held talks with the Minister and Deputy Minister of Foreign Relations of the Dominican Republic, Roberto Álvarez and José Julio Gómez, with whom he reviewed the main political, economic, and cultural issues, around which to strengthen bilateral relations with a traditional partner in the American continent, whose community in Italy is the third largest in the world. This also in view of the second session of the Political Dialogue Mechanism.
Numerous other meetings with Latin American, Caribbean and European political and institutional representatives were useful opportunities for exchanging views on the main topical dossiers of common interest at bilateral, regional and global levels, with the aim of identifying new areas of mutual collaboration.
The common denominator of all the meetings was the enhancement of the Rome Expo 2030 candidacy and the values characterising the Italian candidacy.
During the mission, the Undersecretary’s meeting at Casa de Italia with the representatives of the institutions of the Italian community was of particular importance. During that meeting the Undersecretary highlighted how the community of Italians and Italian-descendants, very well integrated in the socio-economic fabric of the country, is a factor of wealth and momentum in bilateral relations.
