Ambassador’s speech:
Your Excellency, Khaled Sulaiman Al-Jarallah, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kuwaiti Authorities, Ambassadors, dear Italian Nationals and Kuwaiti friends,
We are here to celebrate the 71st anniversary of the Italian Republic, which was born on the 2nd of June 1946. We decided to anticipate the celebration as a form of respect of the Holy month of Ramadan.
Respect, tolerance, dialogue: those are principles on which international relations, as well as human relations, should be based on. Principles that actually Italy and Kuwait fully share, and that are the base of our excellent bilateral relations and mutual understanding.
Kuwait, under the wise guide of His Highness the Amir, plays a key role in consolidating an inclusive political order and in defining the security architecture of the Region. And we are honored to consider Kuwait a strategic allied in the Middle East, as shown by the recent visit of our Prime Minister Gentiloni to Kuwait, the first visit he paid in a Gulf Country since he took the lead of the Italian Government.
Our relations are becoming stronger and stronger day by day in all fields.
We are satisfied of our bilateral trade which strongly increased last year reaching the record figure of 2,1 billion dollars, the double than on 2015. We are convinced that there is room to further improve our commercial and industrial relations. Italy looks with great interest at the ambitious “New Kuwait 2035” economic plan and it is ready to support its focus on diversification, local entrepreneurship and public-private partnerships, throughout a wide range of sectors. Italian companies can provide Kuwait with world-class competences, experience and know-how in strategic sectors, like infrastructure, renewable energies, as well as health: Italy, according to Bloomberg Index 2017, is the healthiest country in the world, and this comes from the excellence of our health care system and the quality of our wonderful food.
Culture is one more crucial sector on which I think we should boost our cooperation: I wish to congratulate Kuwait on the creation of the beautiful new Al Jaber Cultural Center: culture is an essential tool for educating and training new generations, since it fosters their "openness to the world" and helps fighting extremism, as His Highness the Amir clearly stated.
Let me conclude by saying that I am professionally as well as personally really honored to serve as Ambassador of Italy in Kuwait: I wish to thank all of you for your support and friendship, and in particular our guest of honor, His Excellency Al-Jarallah.
Finally, I take this opportunity to wish our Kuwaiti friends and their families a sincere Ramadan Kareem!
Long live Kuwait, Viva l’Italia!