Ignazio Cassis meets Italy's foreign affairs minister Antonio Tajani, with whom he attends Locarno Film Festival
Locarno, 12.08.2024 - Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani paid an official visit to Switzerland today, where he met with the head of the FDFA, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis. On the Brissago Islands, they discussed bilateral relations and international affairs. The two ministers then attended the traditional Diplomacy Day, an event promoted by the Locarno Film Festival, which this year enjoys the support of the Italian embassy in Switzerland.
Mr Tajani's visit to Switzerland follows last year's bilateral meeting in Rome with Mr Cassis. "We are in close contact with Minister Tajani on a regular basis, which reflects our ties with Italy as a whole. In recent years, our relations have been marked by positive developments that we wish to build on," said Mr Cassis. The two ministers emphasised the numerous bilateral agreements reached over the past few years. With regard to migration issues, they mentioned the recent entry into force of an agreement providing for the implementation of projects to finance accommodation and assistance facilities in Italy for unaccompanied minors seeking asylum. The CHF 20 million credit allocated to this end is part of the second Swiss contribution to selected EU member states. Mr Cassis and Mr Tajani also sounded out new areas of bilateral cooperation, for example in the fields of energy and of research and innovation. They also spoke of the next 'Switzerland and Italy in Dialogue' forum, to be held in Rome in November. In attendance of Christian Vitta, the president of Ticino's Council of State, synergies in cross-border cooperation were also discussed.
Also on the agenda were international issues such as the current situation in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine. Mr Cassis thanked Mr Tajani and Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, for taking part in the Summit on Peace in Ukraine at the Bürgenstock resort, which enabled the first steps towards a peace process to be taken. Ignazio Cassis and Antonio Tajani have signed a joint declaration in which they reaffirm that Switzerland and Italy will remain in close contact to jointly create the best possible conditions for a second peace summit involving the parties, including Russia, and all interested global players. To this end, they have invited the international players to spare no effort to arrive at a common negotiating platform based on respect for international law and the principles of territorial integrity and independence of states enshrined in the UN Charter.
Mr Cassis also briefed his counterpart on the ongoing negotiations with the EU and reiterated the Federal Council's objective of stabilising and developing the bilateral path with Brussels.
Diplomacy Day on the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions
Every year, the Locarno Film Festival hosts Diplomacy Day. This year's Diplomacy Day was supported by the Italian embassy in Switzerland and featured speeches by, among others, Anna Prouse (International Red Cross Delegate), Michael Møller (board member of GESDA, the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator) and Giuliano da Empoli (author and political scientist). This provided an opportunity to reflect on the complex global geopolitical context and the important role of international collaboration in preventing and resolving conflicts. There was also the presentation of Open Doors, the section of the Locarno Film Festival that has, with FDFA support, been promoting film production in developing countries for over 20 years.
The meeting between the two ministers falls squarely on the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, signed on 12 August 1949 and universally ratified. Mr Cassis made a point of recalling how this important anniversary is all the more significant today, in a world beset by so many conflicts: "These conventions aim to protect humanity from the devastating effects of war and to preserve respect for the life and dignity of each and every human being. 75 years after their adoption, they continue to save millions of lives." This year also marks the 160th anniversary of the First Geneva Convention, signed in 1864 to improve the conditions of soldiers wounded in war following the Battle of Solferino. Solferino, near Milan, is remembered today in two respects. While its outcome served as the first concrete step towards the unification of Italy, its horrific aftermath inspired Henry Dunant, when seeing the human suffering wrought, to found the International Committee of the Red Cross – the beginning of a humanitarian tradition that still defines Geneva today.
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