On behalf of Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Ambassador Riccardo Guariglia, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, travelled to Singapore for initial bilateral consultations with his counterpart Albert Chua, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The visit confirmed the revitalization of relations between Italy and Singapore, evidenced by the recent meeting in Rome, the second in less than two years, between the two Presidents of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and by the shared goal of the two Heads of Government, Lawrence Wong and Giorgia Meloni, on the sidelines of their meeting at the G20 Summit in Johannesburg last November, to raise bilateral relations to the level of a strategic partnership through a three-year action plan.
The talks addressed the main areas of bilateral cooperation, with particular reference to the political, security, scientific and technological sectors – including space – judicial cooperation, economic and cultural relations.
The two sides confirmed their full convergence of views on the main international issue on the agenda, starting with Russia’s prolonged war of aggression against Ukraine and the recent conflict in the Middle East.
On the sidelines of the consultations, Ambassador Guariglia met with staff from the Italian Embassy in Singapore and representatives of the Italian System in the country, as well as members of the Italian community active in the economic, scientific, and cultural sectors. The meetings offered an opportunity to discuss the prospects for further strengthening the Italian presence in Singapore and in the broader and more dynamic Southeast Asia region – a priority for the national guidelines of growth diplomacy.
