TRIESTE – Robert Needham, US Consul general in Italy, yesterday visited the Port Authority of Trieste president Zeno D’Agostino and the president of the FVG Region.
The memory immediately turns to the last meeting between D’Agostino and the American ambassador to Italy, Lewis M. Eisenberg, in December 2019. On that occasion, even if the official contents were never disclosed, they spoke about the strategic role of the Port of Trieste, and the danger represented by the Memorandum of Understanding signed a few months earlier with the Chinese government.
Yesterday Consul Needham declared on the Facebook page of the consulate: «Pleasant visit to the Port Network Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea at the Port of Trieste. The meeting with President Zeno D’Agostino was an opportunity to talk about cooperation. Port security is vital for global economic trade and US-Italy relations».
In the same vein was the statement by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region president, Massimiliano Fedriga: «It was a pleasant and very cordial meeting, which strengthens a historical and lasting friendship that already exists between Friuli Venezia Giulia and the United States».
The summit – explained by the Region – allowed to focus attention on the existing collaboration relationships in various sectors between Friuli Venezia Giulia and the US government.
Consul General Robert Needham took office in Milan on October 2, 2020. He began his diplomatic career at the US State Department in 1991 and he is a member of the Senior Foreign Service. A former business consultant, Needham has also held positions in some Eastern European states.