Ambassador Cortese, 'Mattarella in Brazil a historic trip'

(ANSA) - SAN PAOLO, 23 LUG - President Sergio Mattarella's trip to Brazil was 'historic', a 'great success' that 'will bear fruit'. This is the assessment of Ambassador Alessandro Cortese, who accompanied the Head of State on the five stages of his visit to Brasilia, Porto Alegre, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador.
    "It is a historic trip not only because it takes place a quarter of a century after the last mission of an Italian president to Brazil, but also because it coincides with the 150th anniversary of Italian immigration to the South American country, and with the 80th since the landing of the Brazilian soldiers (the pracinhas) who came to liberate Italy from Nazi-Fascism". A series of coincidences, the ambassador explained in an interview with ANSA, which combine with the concomitance of the Italian presidency of the G7 and the Brazilian presidency of the G20, which sees the two countries "united in the same objectives: from the global fight against hunger, poverty and inequality, to that against climate change, to more geopolitical issues such as peace in Ukraine and the Middle East and the reorganisation of the governance of multilateral organisations".
    An assonance of intentions that was seen in the meeting between Mattarella and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the Planalto Palace, where both agreed, among other things, on the importance and geo-economic advantage of closing the EU-Mercosur agreement after so many years of negotiations, Cortese noted, also highlighting "an intense discussion" strictly bilateral between the two leaders on more regional issues. A commonality that could be appreciated in Mattarella's speech at the Brazilian Centre for International Relations (Cebri), where he charted 'the course' for a common path for the two countries.
    But the mission was also historic 'for the articulation of the trip'. The president "wanted to include a stop in Rio Grande do Sul," the diplomat pointed out, "to bring solidarity and closeness" to the populations affected by the floods in recent months, in a state characterised by a large Italian-descendant community, adding a new tranche of 500,000 euro through the Red Cross to the 30 tonnes of humanitarian aid sent in May, thanks to the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
    Also of great impact were the meetings that Mattarella organised with the Italian communities at each of the stops he visited, where many did not hide their emotion at the handshake. "They were moments of great value," Ambassador Cortese continued, also emphasising the close-knit fabric of large Italian companies present, "which will certainly benefit from this visit, as the partnership agreements signed also show.