Italy in the world and the world in Italy: interviews with the ambassadors<\/STRONG><\/P> Napolitano: Ambassadors a resource for Italy\u2019s growth \u201cThe day-to-day work of all of the Farnesina\u2019s staff is a major resource for the growth of our country. That work is carried on in situations that are often of extreme hardship, or even of very real and imminent danger. And here I am thinking not just of Tripoli, Baghdad or Kabul but of other places where the spotlight shines less brightly and the interest of the political community is less keen, but where the daily work of our diplomatic missions is no less difficult\u201d.<\/P> This was the message from the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, in his concluding speech at the 10th Ambassadors\u2019 Conference at the Farnesina. The Conference was closed by the Head of State, along with Foreign Minister Emma Bonino, who reiterated that Italian diplomatic missions must work \u201cin emerging countries, and in difficult countries too, for our enterprises\u201d. <\/P> Farnesina helps grasp opportunities that inspire confidence<\/STRONG><\/P> \u201cThe Farnesina\u201d, underscored Napolitano, \u201cis helping us not just to recover from a difficult period but to actively grasp opportunities to which we can look with confidence and conviction, supported by the authority and credibility earned by our country in Europe and throughout the world\u201d. These were the President\u2019s words of encouragement to the Ambassadors, and to the Speakers of the Chamber and Senate and the several ministers who were also present. He explained that \u201cconstant and forceful action is vital to exploit to best effect our country\u2019s efforts\u201d. <\/P> Europe <\/STRONG><\/P> Europe was one of the key topics of both the President and the Foreign Minister\u2019s messages. Napolitano expressed his confidence that the Government, \u201csupported by an undeniable spirit of Europeanism, will act with assertion and leadership in the forthcoming highly important events (most notably the Italian EU Presidency), especially on major issues that cannot fail to influence the future development of integration in the light of political union\u201d. <\/P> \u201cWhat is at stake in the EU elections is the need to establish a clear watershed between the current legislature, dominated by austerity, and the next, which must give greater emphasis to growth and jobs\u201d. The Head of State suggested that the increasingly technical nature of European discussion is one cause of \u201ccitizens\u2019 alienation from the European debate, in that it offers a limited and half-hearted image of Europe\u201d. <\/P> Italy will spare no efforts for the future of Europe, declares Bonino<\/STRONG><\/P> \u201cThinking about Europe without actually \u2018making\u2019 Europe is the greatest limitation to its future\u201d, was Minister Bonino\u2019s comment. \u201cWe believe that Europe is the future and that it must have a future. We will spare no efforts to that end\u201d, she added. Bonino underscored that the countries of North Africa and the Near and Middle East \u201care our priority. In crises regions like Libya, Lebanon or Syria, \u2018doing politics\u2019 nowadays means accepting the resulting responsibilities. And we are doing that. In Libya, in Lebanon and, most recently, in Syria, with our role in the destruction of the chemical arsenal\u201d. <\/STRONG>\u00a0<\/P> 18\/12\/2013<\/STRONG><\/P> \u201cThe Government has lived through an 8-month roller-coaster ride but intends to live the coming months with determination and commitment. In spite of the difficulties, we want the country to start \u2018thinking big\u2019. We can do it\u201d. These were the words of Prime Minister Enrico Letta at the 10th Ambassador\u2019s Conference, opened today by Foreign Minister Emma Bonino. Minister Bonino identified growth as a priority for Italy and declared that \u201cforeign policy must be at the service of this need\u201d. Across-the-board spending cuts are perverse<\/STRONG><\/P> In spite of its work, the Foreign Ministry \u201cis one of the ministries most affected by the perverse logic of across-the-board spending cuts we\u2019ve seen in recent years\u201d, observed the Prime Minister. An approach \u201capplied without intelligence\u201d, in contrast with \u201cthe attempt we\u2019re making, through the spending review, to eliminate these linear cuts\u201d. <\/P> Bonino was an unshakeable choice during the troubled birth of the government, says Letta<\/STRONG><\/P> \u201cThe first choice for our foreign policy was Emma Bonino. During those troubled days of the birth of the government, that was an unshakeable choice from the outset, an important factor in our work\u201d. The Premier recalled that \u201cnot always in Italian history, and I\u2019m using a euphemism here, have the premier and the foreign minister seen eye to eye. And that characteristic doesn\u2019t just apply to our country: you Ambassadors will have seen all sorts of tricky relationships in your work\u201d. <\/P> The Prime Minister underscored the relationship of \u201ctrust and complete loyalty in these 8 months\u201d between himself and the foreign minister. \u201cA relationship of trust and collaboration is vital because it speaks of a country united and in agreement on our major objectives\u201d. <\/P> Diplomacy for growth<\/STRONG> \u201cFarnesina 2015\u201d, guidelines for diplomats to be published<\/STRONG><\/P> Minister Bonino announced the publication of a 50-point document entitled \u201cFarnesina 2015\u201d containing guidelines for diplomatic activity worldwide, with political and operational priorities.
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Italy\u2019s commitment in Libya, a nation still striving for peace almost three years after the fall of a long-lived regime; or in Afghanistan and in Iraq, to help with the reconstruction after years of war, while also paying a high price in human lives, both military and civilian; in Somalia, to restore a diplomatic presence that has been missing for years as a result of impossible security conditions; and the convinced efforts toward a Europe enlarged, particularly to the Balkans, in order to create an integrated economic system that includes the United States, our most important partner. Our country is reaching out through its diplomatic network to make its contribution to peace, stability and prosperity
Italy\u2019s ambassadors, at the same time, facilitate the development of diplomatic, economic and cultural relations with other peoples so as to encourage the internationalisation of Italian businesses and attract foreign investments. <\/P>
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Bonino: A presence in emerging and difficult countries to help our enterprises
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Goals for 2014
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\u201cGrowth of 1% in 2014 and 2% in 2015. That goal is within our reach if interest rates remain low, confidence in Italy remains high and, of course, our accounts remain in order\u201d. On the subject of the public accounts, the Premier underscored that \u201cachieving higher growth by ruining the public accounts is not our intention. Our accounts are in order and we have a renewed outlook for growth \u2013 while keeping the accounts healthy\u201d, he added. <\/P>
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\u201cItaly has one priority above all others. Growth. And foreign policy must act at the service of this need\u201d. This was Minister Bonino\u2019s comment at the Conference, as she reminded the Ambassadors of the \u201cdiplomacy for growth\u201d formula, which means working with two very clear goals in mind. One is to guide Italy into the world, by supporting our exports and the internationalisation of our enterprises. And the other is to bring the world to Italy, by attracting investment\u201d.
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Equipping the country to step up the pace
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As Minister Bonino underscored, \u201cItaly is a country that\u2019s standing, or walking. With your help, it needs to equip itself to step up the pace \u2013 to run\u201d. Minister Bonino reassured the Italian Ambassadors that \u201cI am not asking, nor do I want, our Ambassadors to be transformed into sales representatives. Their role and their responsibilities are different\u201d.
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Cuts create a risk of disinvestment
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\u201cDiplomacy, and the Farnesina, will continue to serve the State in a spirit of self-denial, in the presence of limits imposed by financial resources, limits with which we\u2019ve had to deal for years now. But in foreign policy\u201d, underscored the Minister, \u201cthe on-going contraction in our resources corresponds symmetrically to a contraction in our capacity for action. The risk is that we\u2019ll go from savings to disinvestment\u201d. <\/P>
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