Published29. April 2024, 1:32 p.m.
Presidential trip: Viola Amherd at Giorgia Meloni and the Pope
The President of the Confederation will return to Rome at the end of the week.
- by
- Eric Felley
Trip to Italy for the President of the Confederation.
AFP
The President of the Confederation Viola Amherd has a meeting with Italy this weekend, the Federal Administration communicated this Monday. Friday May 3 in Rome, she will meet President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The Valaisanne will then visit the Vatican, where an audience is planned with Pope Francis on Monday May 6. On this occasion, she will attend the swearing-in of new recruits to the Pontifical Swiss Guard. They traditionally take the oath on May 6 to commemorate the 147 soldiers who fell during the sack of Rome in 1527. Thirty-four new recruits will take the oath.
The discussions with President Sergio Mattarella and the Italian government “will focus in particular on bilateral relations between Switzerland and Italy, the ongoing negotiations between Switzerland and the European Union and the security situation in Europe.”
The discussions with Pope Francis and Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin will be on “the promotion of peace ensured by Switzerland and the Holy See. In addition to the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, the commitment of the secular Sant’Egidio movement to peace in Africa and especially the civil war ravaging Sudan will be discussed.
