The Italian Ambassador to the United States, Armando Varricchio, concluded his trip to Tennessee with a visit to the plant that Beretta opened in Gallatin in 2016. His meeting with the Italian company’s top management crowned his visit to Tennessee to highlight the strong economic ties that unite Italy to the south-eastern American State but also, as the Ambassador recalled: “the tradition of excellence of our industry, which is admired everywhere in the United States.”
Indeed, there are many Italian companies that have decided to invest in Tennessee, taking advantage of the particularly favourable climate to direct foreign investment. This situation was also recalled by Governor Haslam in his meeting with Ambassador Varricchio. Governor Haslam recalled that since 2011, Italian companies have invested more than 400 million dollars in Tennessee, creating approximately 5,000 new jobs.
In Memphis, on the 50th anniversary of the killing of Martin Luther King, Ambassador Varricchio visited the National Civil Rights Museum, affirming that “liberty, democracy and the protection of human rights are the founding pillars of transatlantic relations.”
The visit also focused on cultural relations. In Nashville, Ambassador Varricchio visited the exhibition “Rome: City and Empire”, on show at the Frist Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, and participated in the conference “Modern Challenges in Ancient Art”. He said: “It offers an opportunity to ponder over our common cultural roots but also over the cooperation between the United States and Italy in protecting our common cultural heritage.”
The visit was also covered by the local media. The Commercial Appeal of Memphis published an editorial by the Ambassador and the Tennessean of Nashville published an interview with him.
