The Hon. Roberto Fico, President of the Chamber of Deputies, concluded his institutional visit to Washington on November 4, 2021.
During the productive visit, President Fico met with Italian and US authorities to further relations between Italy and the United States. In particular, on November 2, President Fico, visited the Italian Embassy where he greeted staff and was received by the Ambassador to the United States, Mariangela Zappia. On that day, he also visited the National Archives – home to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the U.S. Bill of Rights – and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum, accompanied by European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, Gen. Roberto Vittori.
On Wednesday, November 3, the President went to Capitol Hill where he met with House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. After brief joint statements to the press, President Fico and Speaker Pelosi held a meeting with Democratic and Republican leaders of the House of Representatives. On Capitol Hill, Speaker Fico also met with Congresswomen Barbara Lee, a member of the Progressive Caucus, Kathy Castor, Chair of the House Select Committee on Climate Change, and Rosa Delauro, Chair of the House Appropriations Committee. The meetings on Capitol Hill, which closely followed Speaker Pelosi’s recent visit to Rome, marked a further strengthening of inter-parliamentary collaboration between Italy and the United States. Talks focused on bilateral relations, the U.S.-Europe relationship, and on global challenges such as climate change, post-pandemic recovery and equitable and sustainable growth.
On that same day, President Fico also met with representatives of the German Marshall Fund and, at State Department, with the Senior Policy Advisor to Secretary Blinken, Derek Chollet. The meeting addressed priority international issues including the crisis in Ethiopia, prospects in Afghanistan, the Mediterranean and Libya’s path towards elections. In the evening, Ambassador Zappia hosted a convivial event with select representatives of the Italian community, US institutions and the business community.
On National Unity and Armed Forces Day (November 4), President Fico attended the Flag Raising Ceremony at the Embassy. After a meeting with experts from Brookings, he visited Arlington Military Cemetery, where he laid a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and paid homage to the graves of three Italian soldiers who died in the United States. Following commemorations in honor of November 4 at the Embassy, President Fico met with experts from the Center for American Progress, and later returned to Italy.
