By H.E. Mr. Armando Varricchio, Ambassador of Italy in Germany since June 2021. Previously he served as Ambassador the United States and G7/G20 Sherpa.
On 30 November 2021, the year of the Italian G20 Presidency came to an end. Twelve months marked by 175 events, 20 ministerial meetings, 2 G20 Leaders’ meeting on Health and Afghanistan, 62 Working Groups’ meeting and 9 Engagement Groups (formed by representatives of civil society) culminated in the Rome Summit of October 30-31.
The Declaration approved by the G20 Leaders during the final meeting is the outcome of an intense year of negotiations and events organized in the framework of the Italian G20 Presidency around three main topics: People, Planet and Prosperity.
The Italian Presidency of the G20 has been crucial to reaffirm the role of multilateralism and the importance of international cooperation to address together global challenges which require an international response, starting with climate change, health and sustainable transition.
The path to the Rome Summit has been marked by a long series of ministerial meetings, held in different cities to highlight the extraordinary beauty and variety of the Italian territory. A fascinating dive into the country’s history, architecture and art, offering our guests also a glance into our future-oriented perspective. Nuvola, the congress center designed by renowned architect Massimiliano Fuksas, which hosted the Rome Summit, combines an extraordinary artistic value with eco-compatible materials and building solutions.
Thanks to the constructive approach adopted by the membership – the G20 could reach important milestones in different fields. Ministers of Education agreed on the need to combat inequalities, making education systems inclusive and resilient. An important step has been the agreement reached on a Roadmap to go “beyond the Brisbane Goal”: concrete measures aiming at ensuring equal opportunities between women and men in the world of work.
The joint Foreign Affairs and Development Ministers Meeting, a first in the G20 history, sent a strong signal on food security with the Matera
Declaration, providing a common response to a critical humanitarian challenge made even worse by the pandemic.
The Naples Ministerial, which gathered the Ministers responsible for Environment, Climate Change and Energy, generated a positive momentum, for the path to the COP 26. A further innovative step was taken with the introduction of Culture in the G20 work stream.
The Finance track has also been very productive with a historical agreement on international taxation while our work on the DSSI and on Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) has also been key in paving the way for a global recovery and in resuming our path towards the SDGs.
Health is, and will remain, a key priority, and the Principles of the Rome Declaration are important steps in the right direction as well as the creation of a joint Finance-Health Task Force to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
These are in a nutshell the main deliveries of the Italian Presidency of the G20.
We are now looking forward to the upcoming Germany G7 Presidency to further enhance, in a spirit of continuity, our common agenda and address effectively global issues of critical importance, such as health, climate change, trade, economic recovery and growth. And first and foremost, protection and promotion of our common values.
Pictures 2 & 3 from the G8, portraying two symbolic venues of the G20: the Colosseo and Nuvola: ©Massimiliano De Giorgi, Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri
For further information
Embassy of the Italian Republic in the Federal Republic of Germany https://ambberlino.esteri.it/ambasciata_berlino/it/
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Main picture of Ambassador Armando Varricchio ©Dario-Jacopo Laganà.
