Zubair Qureshi
The outgoing Ambassador of Italy, Andreas Ferrarese is leaving for Rome after completing four years (three years and 11 months to be exact) in Pakistan. He is taking his flight back to Italy on Saturday (today). He is succeeded by MarilinaArmellin, perhaps the first woman ambassador of Italy to assume the charge as head of mission in Islamabad. She is arriving the same day (Saturday).
Andreas Ferrarese spent quite an eventful and successful term in Pakistan marked by a number of milestones that include scaling up of bilateral trade between the two countries, establishment of ITA and construction of the new embassy.
During his tenure, bilateral trade has grown exponentially up to €2 billion.
Secondly, the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) office in the Italian embassy was set up to promote an enabling environment for the Italian companies to invest in Pakistan and vice versa.
According to experts, although global trade shrank during the Covid-19 pandemic, Pakistan’s exports to Italy in 2022 grew to €1.2 billion. Italian exports to Pakistan were around € 800 million in the same period so Pakistan has a surplus with Italy.
On Friday, the Italian ambassador along with his deputy, Roberto Neccia called on Caretaker Prime Minister AnwarulHaqKakar.
The prime minister while wishing the outgoing ambassador success for future commended his efforts in further strengthening the Pakistan-Italian bilateral relations. The ambassador informed the caretaker prime minister that Pakistan’s diaspora in Italy, around 180,000, is contributing significantly to the Italian economy. Italy in fact is home to the largest number of the Pakistani diaspora and their contribution to the Italian economy, as well as to that of their native country was remarkable.
Worker remittances from Italy to Pakistan have been at an all-time high in the past two years (more than 1 billion Euros a year). Besides, Italy is the 7th largest source of worker remittances to Pakistan globally and the top one within the EU countries.
In his successful journey, Ambassador Ferrarese enjoyed constant support from his spouse, MrsAlbanaFerrarese, an equally active member of the diplomatic community. In her role as President of the Islamabad Foreign Women Association (IFWA) Albana has been quite instrumental in organizing exhibitions to showcase Pakistani women’s art and craft and arranging different charity events for out of school children, girls education, women empowerment etc.
When asked what he will be missing the most the ambassador said he made friendships with a large number of Pakistanis and he is bringing along memories that he and his wife will cherish and will always remain in touch with the Pakistani friends.
On a lighter note he said he would also be missing ‘paratha’ the most as his daughters Chiara, 5 and Alessia, 3 liked to have ‘paratha’ in their breakfast. “This is something you will not find in the streets of Rome, he said.
