The Ambassador of Italy spoke about who helped him bring the painting by Da Vinci to Astana, how many universities in Italy offer scholarships to Kazakhstan students, and which Italian children's book was translated into Kazakh.
About me
I am a diplomat, a professional nomad in the land of nomads. I started my career 25 years ago. I have worked in Latin America, the USA, Italy, and Spain. My specialization is Economic diplomacy.
About work
Kazakhstan is the first country where I have been posted as an ambassador. I have lived here for two and a half years already.
I did not plan to come here. I was assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, I can surely say that the best events in my life were not planned. I am happy to be here with my family. My wife is from Argentina. Our three children were born in Italy. We are an international family.
I like that Kazakhstan is now somewhat of a hub between West and East, as well as between North and South.
About Central Asia
I have visited four Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and I am planning to visit Turkmenistan at the end of the year. In Kazakhstan, I have visited about 13 regions. My frequent destination is Almaty, as we have a big Italian community, many companies, and the Italian Cultural Institute which we opened last year.
When I first came to Astana, I did not expect to see such a modern city, but at the same time, I felt at home. It was strange because usually when you come to a new place, you feel lonely, but it did not happen here. I was favorably impressed.
Kazakhstan people are eager to know about you and your country, but also crave to tell about themselves, their traditions, their nomadic life and stories, and what they do for a living. It was an interesting revelation because Italians do not usually aspire to talk about themselves. It helped me feel even more at home here.
About work in Central Asia
Italy is among the top 10 countries with the most solid investments in Kazakhstan. Also, Italy is number one in importing groceries from Kazakhstan among European countries. Our companies invest in renewable energy resources, agribusiness, and the creative industry. Italy is a champion in the creative industry, and we believe that this field has enormous potential for cooperation between our countries. Culture is not only about organizing exhibitions, but it is also about dialogue between people and governments. Culture is a stable basis for building business relationships and friendships.
Recently, we translated the famous Italian children's book Le Mille Meraviglie by Geronimo Stilton into Kazakh. Now children in Kazakhstan have an opportunity to learn more about Italy.
At the beginning of June, the National Museum opened an exhibition featuring the work of Leonardo Da Vinci, where we brought the painting La Bella Principessa. The exhibition was organized thanks to the collective work of the Embassy of Italy, the Italian Cultural Institute, and our sponsors: Forte Bank, Mastercard, Scripta Maneant. The exhibition will last until the fourth of August, giving all citizens of Astana a unique opportunity to see a masterpiece by Leonardo Da Vinci. Considering the fact that this painting has only been shown five times: twice in Italy, once in Switzerland, once in China, and now we have brought it to Kazakhstan.
We believe that the exhibition will become a platform for organizing other events, which will increase the tourist attraction in Astana, and at the same time, develop tourism in Italy.
In December of this year, we also plan to organize an opera concert dedicated to female figures in Giacomo Puccini's arias, as this year marks the 100th anniversary of Puccini's death.
The sphere of education is well developed between our countries. We have 97 agreements between universities in Italy and Kazakhstan. Last year, we granted 2000 student visas. We believe that this was the largest number of student visas issued to students in Kazakhstan. Most students have scholarships from Italian institutes and universities. We are also working on increasing the number of agreements. One of the universities is the Polytechnic Agro-Cultural Institute and another is in the field of sports, health, and physiotherapy. This is something new for Kazakhstan and hopefully important for the future of the country.
Last year, the Embassy of Italy granted more than 21 000 visas to Kazakhstan people. This year, we plan to increase the number to 27 000 visas. We are glad that we receive many applications and we do our best to grant more. The percentage of rejections is low — only 4.9%. That is why we believe there will be an increased number of tourists, students, and businessmen coming from Kazakhstan.
