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Before OAS Permanent Council, Italy Presents Report on Italy-Latin American and Caribbean Conference

The Government of Italy today presented before the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) a report on the results of the Fifth Conference between the European country and Latin America and the Caribbean, held on October 4 and 5 in Rome.

“This initiative has become a cornerstone of Italy’s involvement with Latin America and in general of Italian foreign policy,” said the Permanent Observer of Italy to the OAS, Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata. “There were participants from 39 countries, mainly at the level of Vice Presidents, Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Ministers, which shows that the very fruitful and privileged cooperation Italy began some time ago is showing results,” he added.

Ambassador Terzi recalled the broad links Italy has with the American continent, beginning with the large communities of Italian ancestry that live in the Hemisphere, and concluding with the many historical, cultural and political connections on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

The main objective of the meeting, explained the Italian diplomat, was to strengthen cooperation to identify the common problems affecting both regions. “We believe that the difficult economic situation requires that each government, each international organization and civil society in general show a renewed responsibility and greater coordination,” he concluded.

The Director of the OAS Department of International Affairs, Irene Klinger, who represented the OAS at the Conference, highlighted that the biennial meeting “constitutes a mechanism by which Italy reaffirms its commitment to support growth, collaboration, development, prosperity and friendship with the Americas.”

She said, at the same time, that “it is a means by which Latin America and the Caribbean can learn from Italy’s best experiences in concrete areas such as industrial and financial cooperation, as well as to talk about matters of international significance, such as the strengthening of democracy, organized crime, and regional integration.”

Also present at the Conference in Rome were the Vice President of Honduras and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Uruguay; the Minister of Science and Technology of Brazil and Governor of Pernambuco, the Minister of Security of Panama, and the Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Peru. In addition, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Spain, the Deputy Director of the United States Office of Planning and Coordination for the Western Hemisphere, the President of the Inter-American Development Bank, the Ibero-American Secretary General, and representatives of the Andean Development Corporation and the Central American Integration System.

Italy has been a Permanent Observer country of the Organization of American States since May 17, 1972.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-904/11