United Nations Secretary General
Antonio Guterres hailed the role Italy plays on the
international arena during a meeting with Italian President
Sergio Mattarella at the UN's headquarters in New York on
Monday.
"Italy is a fundamental pillar of multilateralism and an
exemplary partner of the United Nations," Guterres said.
"Italy is always present in every area of our activities, in
peacekeeping operations, in sustainable development, in climate
protection, in human rights.
"It is very important to say this at a time when Italy is taking
over the presidency of the G7".
The UN chief specifically mentioned Italy's involvement in the
UNIFIL mission in Lebanon.
"An additional reason to be grateful to Italy regards the 1,081
Italian soldiers deployed in the UNIFIL mission in extremely
dangerous circumstances, with the professionalism and courage
that not only represent Italy's generous contribution to the
world, but also demonstrate its very strong commitment to the
UN, with multilateralism and with peace," Guterres said.
During the meeting, Mattarella said that "at this time it is
necessary to interrupt the spiral of action and reaction that
makes problems worse and does not allow them to be resolved.
"I am here at the UN to testify once again how much faith Italy
has in the United Nations, and in its actions," he continued.
"The more crises, difficulties, conflicts and confrontations
grow in the world, the more it becomes clear that there is an
indispensable need for the UN's action".
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