The recent pastoral visit of the Holy Father, strengthening ties with Singapore, the upcoming United Nations General Assembly, and the work awaiting San Marino following the signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union. These were the main topics addressed by Foreign Secretary Luca Beccari, who briefed the Commission on the Republic’s international activity.
Beccari began with the Pope’s visit to San Marino, highlighting the work carried out by the public administration and the broader public sector to organize the event on a particularly tight schedule and during the height of the summer season. Several employees rescheduled their holidays or cut them short to ensure full operational continuity of services. According to the Secretary, this effort allowed the organizational machinery to function at its best and demonstrated the country’s growing capacity to manage large-scale institutional events. The visit also carried diplomatic weight, thanks to meetings with the delegation accompanying the Holy Father and the strengthening of international cooperation ties.
On the bilateral front, San Marino is working to strengthen relations with Singapore. Beccari recently held a phone call with the Asian country’s foreign minister, and talks will continue in person in New York. The aim is to define a joint work plan, accompanied by an exchange of visits, increasing dialogue and cooperation between the two states.
New York will indeed be the next hub of San Marino’s diplomatic activity. In two weeks, the delegation will take part in the United Nations General Assembly, with a schedule including several engagements. These include the deposit of instruments of ratification for various international conventions, the high-level meeting of small European states, and the traditional tripartite meeting with Monaco and Andorra.
Beccari will also attend the ministerial meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, a continuation of the process launched at the New York conference in July of last year on the recognition of Palestine. San Marino will also take part in the Assembly’s general debate, an occasion on which it will present its position on key international issues and the initiatives undertaken by the Republic.
Attention also remains high on Ukraine. San Marino will support the second international conference on the return of Ukrainian children, scheduled for September 28 and 29 in Toronto. The Republic will not attend in person for organizational reasons but will continue to back the initiative politically and diplomatically.
Another important date is set for September 30, with a meeting of heads of mission from European Union countries, organized by the San Marino ambassador together with the Irish presidency. The meeting will mainly serve to begin concretely shaping the phase following the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU.
Discussions will pick up the work begun at the meeting held last June in Rome. Several European countries have already offered San Marino forms of collaboration and assistance in implementing the Agreement, one of the issues set to occupy a significant part of the Republic’s international activity in the coming months.
