At the esteemed Chamber of Deputies of Italy on 3 February, the Conference entitled ‘The Asian Renaissance: A Bridge of Thoughts and Ideas to Unite East and West, Italy and Malaysia’ was succesfully held, with participants comprising of Senators, members of the Chamber of Deputies, Italian government, diplomatic corps, academia and think-tanks, and media.
The Conference began with a video message from YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia, who stated that in a time of great global unease and uncertainty, what is imperative is a global convivencia, or coexistence, rooted in civilisational confidence, ethical restraint and intellectual curiosity.
The keynote address was given by Datuk Prof Dr. Faiz Abdullah, Chairman of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Malaysia, who stated that the rise of Asia should be seen as an opportunity to build a more pluralistic and inclusive global order, based on respect for international law and cooperation.
In their remarks, Dato’ Zahid emphasized the need to strengthen strategic dialogue between Europe and the Indo-Pacific, and that the Malaysia-Italy relations are broad and solid, across many areas, and continues to strengthen; Hon. Maria Tripodi, Italian Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said that Italy’s strengthening of relations with Malaysia is a concrete example of a partnership based on pragmatism, mutual trust and a long-term vision; and Hon. Mario Morgoni, President of the Istituto Italiano per L’Asia (ISIA), defined Kuala Lumpur as a strategic player for future global balances and a partner of growing importance for Italy and the European Union.
There was also an excellent panel discussion where H.E. Michele Valensise, President of Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) underlined the strong convergence of values between Italy and Malaysia, based on respect for diversity, interreligious dialogue and responsible pragmatism in international relations.
The Embassy expresses its deep gratitude to Honourable Luca Squeri and ISIA for co-organising and promoting this important Conference.
