ITALIAN REPUBLIC DAY: Messages from Danilo Giurdanella Consul General of Italy in Karachi

TEXT: It gives me great pleasure to address the readers again on the National Day of the Italian Republic. In an increasingly changeable and complex global scenario, the principles and values that were laid down by the founding fathers of our Republic, democracy, equality for all and rule of law are - I believe - the only possible answer to the international and domestic crisis we are facing around the World. Our initiatives in Karachi, Sindh and Baluchistan have always been guided by these polar stars, being fully convinced of the importance of international cooperation for all peace-loving Nations and that particularly Pakistan stands to gain by more cooperation with Italy and Italy has much to learn from Pakistan and its generous and industrious people.

The past year has been a prodigious and enriching experience for me as well, as we undertook various initiatives mainly in educational, social and commercial fields to further fuel the bilateral relations between the two countries and the two peoples. I wish to remind here that also the Pakistani diaspora in Italy has played a fundamental role in strengthening the ties between the two Nations, as well as the smaller but equally engaged Italian community in Pakistan.

On the educational side, the Italian Consulate in Karachi has been proactively engaged with reputable universities in Sindh to facilitate in creating linkages with their counterparts in Italy. Our aim is to establish lasting bonds between academic institutions of Italy and Pakistan in all disciplines and faculties for exchange programs, joint researches and to establish a three-party relationship with Italian and Pakistani businesses involved or interested in bilateral economic cooperation as a way to fight unemployment in Pakistan and contribute to Italy’s workers shortage in certain fields.

This year, we will continue to bring more scholars, civil society and academicians to visit Sindh and create linkages between the two countries for years to come. As we believe, education plays a pivotal role in building sustainable, inclusive and resilient societies and is one of the main goals in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Another important project remains the cooperation between the Sindh Ministry of Culture and the University of Milan regarding the significant historical site of Banbhore, with the will to further strengthen tourism in Sindh.

Regarding the social activities, the Italian Consulate, with the support of Italian NGOs has been promoting humanitarian aid to the victims of the catastrophic flooding in Sindh. Another important sector has been Health Care: among other University cooperation’s an important agreement has been signed between a major Italian paediatric hospital and its Pakistani counterpart.

On the commercial front, while we have been successfully facilitating business ties between commercial entities on both sides. I would take the opportunity to specially highlight the joint coordinated effort of the Consulate of Italy, together with the Italian Trade Agency (ICE) and Italian Development Committee (IDC) in successfully facilitating the business community to be able to participate in the largest textile exhibition in the world ITMA 2023, which is being hosted in Milan from 8-14th June, 2023. For Italy in Karachi, it is very important to facilitate businesses exchanges on both sides to be able to explore potential opportunities between both countries. The Consulate created a special corridor for ITMA 2023 – a one window solution together with ITA, IDC, ACIMIT and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that Pakistani businesses successfully participate in the exhibition. Besides, tourism and other business requests, the Consulate facilitated around 600 ITMA applications from March-May 2023.

Another positive development has been the opening of ICE office in Pakistan, which will further strengthen the bilateral economic and commercial relations between Italy and Pakistan. I take the opportunity to welcome Dr. Salvatore Parano, the newly assigned Trade Commissioner for Pakistan. I extend my full support to the ICE office in Pakistan for Sindh and Baluchistan. I am optimistic that Dr. Parano will also play a vital role in fortifying trade relations between our two countries.

This year, another area that the Consulate of Italy aims to promote is Blue Economy. Italy is a strong industry player in the Blue Economy Sector. It is the third largest blue economy in Europe. Taking into account all parallel supply chain activities, the blue economy as a whole generated $145 billion in 2021, representing 10% of Italian GDP, with more than 225,000 companies. This area of cooperation is particularly interesting as we enjoy in Karachi excellent relationships with the Armed Forces and the Pakistan Navy and we look forward to an increase in Naval Diplomacy activities.

In sum, it has been a very intensive year, full of opportunities and cooperation between the two Countries but also of love and affections between the two people. Italy has shown its willingness to contribute to Pakistan’s industrial growth and social development; Pakistan has enriched Italy with its big-hearted, indefatigable people and ancient culture. Italy-Pakistan Dosti Zindabad!

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023