The President of the Republic, Mario Abdo Benítez, traveled to Italy on Tuesday for a two-day official visit, which includes a meeting with his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, in which he will seek to expand joint bilateral cooperation on issues such as the fight against organized crime, and a private audience with Pope Francis.
Source: EFE
Abdo Benítez left accompanied by the first lady, Silvana López Moreira, from the First Air Brigade and will land on Wednesday at the Fiumicino airport.
In a press conference, the head of the Civil Cabinet of the Presidency, Hernán Huttemann, and the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Raúl Silvero, indicated that Abdo Benítez thus responded to an invitation from the Italian Government.
Huttemann pointed out that both presidents will seek to strengthen “existing ties” between both countries, as well as expanding the areas of cooperation, bilateral trade and supporting small and medium-sized companies.
In addition to the meeting Abdo Benítez’s agenda includes his attendance at a lunch offered by Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace.
Silvero highlighted the importance of the Italian community in the country, as well as the Paraguayan presence on Italian soil.
Related note: Pope Francis will receive Abdo this Friday
The vice minister mentioned Among the topics to be discussed is a dual nationality agreement signed in 2019, which has already entered into force in Paraguay and has not been ratified by Italy.
The agreement provides that Paraguayans and reciprocally Italians may acquire or reacquire the nationality of each country, following the legislation in force in each of these, without losing the origin.
The official also referrede to the association agreement that the European Union (EU) and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) reached in June 2019, after 20 years of negotiations, and which is pending ratification.
“Italy is a country that supports this agreement”, Silvero stressed.
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Also pFor Thursday, a meeting has been scheduled in one hour to be confirmed between Abdo Benítez and the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and his participation in an honor session of the International Italian-American Organization (IILA) Board of Delegates.
On Friday, Pope Francis will receive the Paraguayan president in a private audience already the first lady.
The president’s return is scheduled for Friday.
