interview
■ Photo: Zoran Petrović
H.E. Mr. Armando Varricchio, Italian Ambassador to Serbia
Mutual Trust and
SUPPORT
Italy has always looked benevolently on Serbia while supporting the effort invested by Belgrade in making Serbia a part of the European Union
in Serbia or Italy. That is something that is a constant. President Nikolić’s visit to Rome also has a great symbolic value since Italy is the first EU country that President Nikolić has visited. In July, Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi was the first European official to visit Serbia following the formation of a new government. Italy is as important to Serbia as Serbia is to Italy. ■ During his official visit to Italy, the Serbian president met
with the top Italian officials. Judging by the statements made after the meetings, his visit was more than successful. What were the main topics of these meetings and what kind of agreements were reached?
- The visit was successful and significant not only symbolically but also because of the topics that were discussed. The officials primarily talked about our bilateral cooperation, bearing in mind that that cooperation is very intense politically, economically and culturally. The main topic was yet again validating Italian support for Serbia’s European perspective. We think that Serbia does belong in Europe, and that we should work together on Serbia’s joining the EU. As far as concrete agreements or treaties go, it wasn’t the time or the place to sign them. There is a strategic partnership between our two countries and the two governments regularly attend summits where concrete forms of cooperation are negotiated. We are currently working on setting up the third summit. The last one was held here, in Belgrade, on March 8, while the topic of the next intergovernmental summit will be on specific agreements. ■ Your arrival to Serbia coincided with a more dynamic politi-
I
n an interview for CorD magazine, Italian Ambassador to Serbia H.E. Mr. Armando Varricchio talks about this, as well as political, economic and cultural cooperation and opportunities to further its development.
■ Serbia and Italy share a long tradition of good bilateral relations. In early October, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić went on his first official visit to Italy in his new role. Could we interpret that as an indication of Serbian foreign policy priorities?
- The official visit of President Nikolić is a validation of our excellent bilateral relations, based on a strategic partnership. That is really important for us, but it is also important to mention that our relations do not depend on changes of governments, whether 16 |
99 December 2012 | www.cordmagazine.com
cal and economic cooperation between Serbia and Italy. What is your overall view of the relations between the two countries?
- I am very satisfied with everything that has happened in the last few years. We have been given an opportunity to build yet another ‘floor’ on the solid base that our relations are, and our goals keep on getting more ambitious. In terms of the political segment, the first summit, with the two governments in attendance, was held in 2009, and an agreement on strategic partnership was signed on that summit. In respect to the economy, a lot has been done not only in the commercial and trade segment, which has grown several times, but also about the investments made by Italian companies here in Serbia. These investments keep on multiplying. That is not only an economic indicator, but also an indication of trust that Italian companies have in your country. A lot has been done