The Central European Initiative, in cooperation with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, organised on 22-24 March, a meeting, in Trieste, with the ambassadors representing the CEI Member States accredited to Rome and with the Italian Ambassadors accredited to the CEI Member States.
The event was an opportunity to present a survey of the CEI activities carried out over the past years as well as to illustrate the steps taken in order to implement its core mission: regional cooperation for a European integration.
During the meeting the Ambassadors highlighted the need to organize meetings of this kind more often in order to be able to increase the visibility of the CEI in their respective countries. Hon. Roberto Antonione, in his capacity as Head of the Italian Delegation to the CEI Parliamentary Assembly, expressed his commitment and appreciation to the CEI.
The agenda also included a session dedicated to the business community of the Friuli – Venezia Giulia Region (FVG) - organised in cooperation with Confindustria of the FVG Region at the Prefecture in Trieste. Among the distinguished participants, Alessandro Calligaris, President of CONFINDUSTRIA FVG and Silvia Acerbi, Vice-president of INFORMEST, coordinated by CEI Alternate Secretary General, Giorgio Rosso Cicogna.
On 24 March, Participants had the opportunity to visit the Centres of Excellence composing the CEI Science and Technology Network. On that occasion, a special greeting was given by the Italian Government represented by Hon. Giuseppe Pizza, Under Secretary for Education, Universities and Research who welcomed his Serbian counterpart, Deputy Minister for Education and Research, Viktor Nedovic, representing the current CEI presidency. In his welcome speech, Hon. Giuseppe Pizza highlighted that the scientific reality in Trieste is well-known and appreciated world-wide and that Trieste was chosen as the seat of the ICTP because it was a meeting point between east and west / north and south when the world was still divided by different “power blocks” during the cold war. In this context, he also reaffirmed Italy’s commitment to these centres of excellence in the years to come.
from left: Sen. Mantica and Amb. Pfanzelter
from left: Sen. Mantica, Amb. Pfanzelter, Hon. Antonione