Italian Republic Day celebrations were held in Vienna, jointly organised by the Italian Embassy, the Permanent Representation to the International Organisations and the Permanent Representation to the OSCE. For the occasion, the doors and gardens of the Metternich building – the historical seat of the Embassy – were opened to representatives of the institutional, diplomatic and academic world and of the International Organisations based in Austria.
The celebrations were an opportunity to recall the founding values of the Italian Republic and the special significance of the Referendum of 1946, as well as to highlight the excellent state of bilateral relations between Italy and Austria and the role played by Italy in the UN and OSCE.
In her welcome speech, the Italian Permanent Representative to the International Organization in Vienna, Ambassador Debora Lepre, emphasized that a rights-based multilateralism “is and must remain the guiding principle of international relations to address the great challenges of our time”. “It is also from here that Italy can and will continue to play its role, in the promotion of those democratic values and common interests that we have built together, sometimes with difficulties” Ambassador Lepre said, highlighting the important role played by the Italian officials working in the Vienna-based Organizations.
