Italy and the Holy See – Visit by Jean-Yves Le Drian to Rome (4 December 2020)

Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, is visiting Rome today.

At the invitation of his counterpart, Luigi di Maio, the minister will take part in the “Med Dialogues” which bring together several foreign ministers as well as representatives of European institutions and the UN. Created in 2015, on the initiative of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale, the main Italian foreign policy think tank, the “Med Dialogues” are aimed at helping to establish a positive agenda for the Mediterranean.

The minister will meet with Luigi di Maio to discuss issues on which our two countries would like to work together, notably including the economic recovery, cooperation on European security and the coordination of health measures in the face of the pandemic. The ministers will discuss the implementation of a strategy for the Mediterranean as well as the main international issues regarding which French-Italian cooperation is essential, notably Libya, as well the new prospects opened up by the outcome of the U.S. elections.

The minister will meet with Piero Fassino, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chamber of Deputies and Chairman of the France-Italy Parliamentary Friendship Group.

Jean-Yves Le Drian will meet with Gilbert Houngbo, President of the International Fund for Agriculture Development, in order to discuss the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and investment by this fund - supported by the French Development Agency - in Africa.

The minister will visit the Holy See. He will meet with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, and Msgr. Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States, in order to review our shared commitments to multilateralism and climate challenges and discuss several international crises on which our diplomatic services are focused.