(Adnkronos) – The foreign and interior ministries have teamed up to bolster Italy’s network of security experts at its embasssies and consulates around the world in order to protect Italians and safeguard the country’s “operational interests”, interior minister Matteo Piantedosi said on Friday in Rome.
“Together with (foreign minister Antonio) Tajani, we have strengthened the network of security experts at diplomatic missions,” Piantedosi said.
Piantedosi was giving an opening address to the Conference of Consults of Italy in the Word at the foreign ministry, an event dedicated to the country’s consulates, which assist over seven million Italian citizens living abroad.
“I believe this is a strategic tool for defending our communities and safeguarding our operational interests around the world,” Piantedosi said.
Besides Tajani and Piantedosi, senior representatives from the private sector, including chief executives (CEOs) and top managers from ITA Airways, Poste Italiane and Trenitalia are attending Friday’s inaugural session of the conference.
Comprising 176 career consulates and 330 honorary consuls spread across all continents, the consular network is the primary point of contact between the Italian government and Italian communities around the world. The network provides services and assistance to over 7.3 million Italian citizens living abroad.
Argentina, Brazil, and Germany are home to the largest Italian communities. One in six Italians resident abroad lives in Latin America, according to the foreign ministry.
