NEW YORK, AUGUST 17 – The new Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Maurizio Massari, today officially presented his credentials to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. During the ceremony and the subsequent cordial meeting with the UN chief, Ambassador Massari reiterated the determination of the Italian Government to consolidate and further develop the already excellent partnership between Italy and the United Nations, leveraging on the important contribution traditionally made by his country to the main areas of activity of the Organization.
“Italy’s dynamic and proactive action at the multilateral level supports the work of the United Nations and will continue to do so with conviction,” said Ambassador Massari, recalling the importance and breadth of Italy’s contribution to the United Nations. This includes being the eighth largest contributor to the UN budget, the largest contributor of blue helmets among Western countries – in particular to the UNIFIL mission in Southern Lebanon – and hosting a considerable number of agencies and structures of the UN system, including the food hub in Rome (FAO, WFP, IFAD), the logistics center in Brindisi (UNHRD) and the UN Staff College in Turin.
The Secretary General expressed great appreciation for Italy’s role in the main regional theaters of operations of the United Nations as well as for the Italian Presidency of the G20 and its focus on the three interconnected pillars of action: People, Planet and Prosperity.
Ambassador Massari finally shared the main issues of interest currently on the United Nations’ agenda, focusing also on the substantive and operational aspects, still being defined, in view of the 76th Session of the General Assembly scheduled in September in New York. (@OnuItalia)