Italy’s Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Maria Tripodi, spoke on behalf of Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, at the FAO headquarters in Rome for the inauguration of the 33rd General Assembly of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), an organisation that promotes the conservation of all forms of cultural heritage, in every region of the world.
The Undersecretary reaffirmed how important the work of the Organisation – which has been based in Rome for more than 60 years – is for Italy, and mentioned the Italian Government’s intention to further promote relations with ICCROM, supporting its programmes and its ongoing transformation and modernization efforts.
Tripodi emphasised how Italy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, encouraged by Minister Tajani, are committed to ensuring the successful protection and promotion of all forms of cultural heritage, both within and beyond national borders. This is done in the awareness that culture is key to spreading universal values in the world and nurturing dialogue between peoples, which is more necessary than ever today. This is why cultural diplomacy is at the heart of the Italian Government’s foreign policy, as demonstrated by its commitment to the recovery and reconstruction of the artistic heritage of Countries in crisis, affirmed Tripodi.
“It is precisely at times like the present, in which trust in multilateralism seems to be weakening, that it is most urgent to reinvigorate this trust, rediscovering the deep cultural roots that unite us as humans, and beginning again by relaunching cultural multilateralism through convinced support for organisations such as ICCROM and UNESCO”, the Undersecretary concluded.
