With the staging of their historical carousel, the Carabinieri and the Farnesina celebrated the anniversary of the establishment of the Carabinieri Unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which for 40 years has ensured the security of the Ministry and of the diplomatic and consular offices all over the world. The ceremony, which was held in the Salvo D’Acquisto barracks in Rome, was attended, among others, by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emanuela Del Re, the Undersecretaries of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Merlo and Manlio Di Stefano, and the Undersecretary of Defense, Angelo Tofalo.
The Secretary General of the Farnesina, Ambassador Elisabetta Belloni said that “Today’s celebration has special meaning and special value. In fact, it is only thanks to the integration and cohesion among the different Institutions serving the State that this service can be performed at its best”. “We are very proud of all the Carabinieri who serve at our facilities – explained the Secretary General – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is one of the largest diplomatic-consular and cultural networks in the world: in most of our facilities the role of the Carabinieri is to protect the buildings, and above all to ensure the safety of the staff of both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and of the other institutions working at our facilities”.
The Carabinieri Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was established on September 15th, 1979. Today the Italian diplomatic offices abroad are protected by 377 Carabinieri, distributed across 104 Embassies, 24 Consulates and 3 Permanent Representations, to which are added 93 units in service at the 50 Offices of the Military Defense Attaches abroad. Over 150 men serve in 14 high-risk locations which include those in Libya, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan; these men are specially trained and equipped and have the task of protecting and escorting the Ambassadors and the diplomatic officials.
