Following the instructions given by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Angelino Alfano, the Director General for Italians Abroad, Luigi Vignali, will set off on his mission to Venezuela today. It is the first mission by a Director General of the Foreign Ministry to Venezuela since the escalation of the political, economic and social crisis. The mission is aimed at confirming Italy’s attention and solidarity for the Italian community in Venezuela (the third-largest in all of Latin America, with over 140,000 people of Italian birth and almost one million of Italian descent) and at collecting information on the basis of which to launch new initiatives to support them.
Venezuela is currently undergoing a very serious economic crisis, characterised by hyperinflation that has a particularly heavy impact on fixed income earners, pensioners and the most vulnerable elements of the Italian community. In 2017 an extraordinary allocation of 1,265,000 Euros was made in favour of needy Italians in Venezuela and another million euros were authorised from the 2018 budget bill.
