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Ambassador Armando Varricchio takes part in a conversation on the international response to Covid-19 organized by the Meridian International Center in Washington (April 2, 2020).

Washington, April 2, 2020. Ambassador Armando Varricchio took part, together with his Spanish colleague Santiago Cabanas, in a conversation moderated by Ambassador Stuart Holliday, President and CEO of the Meridian International Center in Washington. The conversation provided an opportunity to illustrate Italy’s response to the pandemic, being one of the first democracies to be affected by the spread of the virus.

Varricchio recalled that the challenge for democracies consists in finding the right balance between the need to guarantee the safety of citizens through stringent and painful measures and the protection of individual freedoms and of our founding values. During the conversation, the Ambassador recalled how the Italian response was exemplary, mentioning the first encouraging signs of the contagion slow down and the courage and resilience of all Italians who responded cohesively and with unity to the crisis.

The Ambassador then recalled the assistance provided by the Americans to Italy, starting with the $ 100 million announced by President Trump, and the numerous manifestations of solidarity that came from every corner of the United States. He also recalled the importance of European solidarity to manage the emergency and immediately create the conditions for economic recovery.

Finally, Ambassador Varricchio stressed that this crisis “represents a challenge for the health of our fellow citizens and for our democracies”, a challenge that requires “cohesion and collaboration between democratic countries but also international collaboration, strengthening multilateral instruments available, with a long-term projection”. “This – said the Ambassador – is not the time to try to achieve short tactical gains, but to look to the future and build on the lessons drawn from the Covid-19 emergency.”