ISLAMABAD, APR 26 (DNA) – Ambassador of Italy, Stefano Pontecorvo, has said that it gave him immense pleasure to be celebrating the National Day of Italy for the third time in Pakistan.
He was speaking during a ceremony that was held to celebrate National Day of Italy, the other day.
“ I am indeed thankful for being the Ambassador to Pakistan, as the relationship between our countries is one of those that will always allow Heads of Mission like myself to escape the curse of banality, otherwise constantly lurking in diplomatic prose”.

Ambassador said, that ours is a multi-faceted relationship where you do not have to repeat yourself to look for something positive and for true perspective.
In 2016 I celebrated the vitality of our political ties, in 2017 I addressed the growing relationship between the people of our countries and in 2018 I am proudly hinting at our blossoming trade and cultural partnership, he added.
Since 2014 Italy has quickly climbed charts becoming Pakistan’s number 14th trade partner according to Italian statistics authority ISTAT, testifying to the two nations’ unexpressed complementarity potential.
“In an effort to consolidate and intensify this virtuous circle I visited Lahore a number of times this past year to interact with the chambers of commerce to further Italian business”.
My commitment was recently rewarded by the warm welcome I received in Lahore at the Pakistan Auto Show in March, where we welcomed the presentation of the new Vespa, and at the Agritech 2018 in April.
On the cultural side we are doing our utmost to increase our stakes in art and academia. Fifty Pakistani artists were invited to Italy to sell their works and the proceeds will be donated for charity.
A delegation of the most prominent Italian universities visited Pakistan just a few weeks ago to promote teacher and student exchange, with Italy as the destination of choice for the best among them.
The ambassador further said, “Our archeological missions are the mirror of what Pakistan and Italy can do together, from our historical flagship mission in Barikot down to Multan and all the way to Sindh, our historians and scientists are working together to open new avenues for what we all hope will be a brighter, common future”.=DNA