President Pellegrini Opens New Honorary Consulate in Bari

Bari, 4 June (TASR-correspondent) - President Peter Pellegrini opened on Thursday evening a new honorary consulate in the southern Italian city of Bari with the aim of promoting innovation and providing assistance to Slovaks in Apulia. Salvatore Chionno has served as Slovakia's honorary consul for Apulia region since 2024. "We're strengthening our network of honorary consulates in the Italian Republic; we have excellent coverage in the north and centre, so we've focused on the southern part, including Bari and Sicily. I'm pleased that we're now here at the Slovak honorary consulate in the centre of Bari, which will serve all citizens. At the same time, it will be a place where the honorary consul will work on projects that will further intensify cooperation between Slovakia and Italy or between individual regions," said the Slovak head of state. The delegation included representatives from eight Slovak universities, the Slovak Academy of Sciences, the airports in Bratislava and Kosice, and other Slovak companies. They signed memoranda of cooperation with Italian partners in the areas of local government, education, the economy, and transportation. The town of Liptovsky Mikulas (Zilina region) and the city of Bari declared their intention to develop cooperation, particularly in the areas of organising joint events, exchanging experiences in hosting visitors, cooperation between schools, and the implementation of joint European initiatives. Pellegrini believes that this cooperation will yield a number of specific and inspiring projects. One of the goals of the president's visit was to strengthen university dialogue, and academic and scientific exchange between Slovak and Italian institutions, and to extend this cooperation to the southern Italian region of Apulia. Slovak universities from Kosice, Trnava, Nitra, Bratislava and Banska Bystrica therefore signed memoranda of cooperation at the City Hall in Bari with the Aldo Moro University of Bari, the Polytechnic University, and the Free Mediterranean University. "The field of education and research is one of the key areas of Slovak-Italian relations. High-quality education and moral values, which are upheld by universities, represent a fundamental pillar in shaping new generations," noted Pellegrini. "Last but not least, the agreement between the airports in Bari, Bratislava, and Kosice will create the conditions for greater connectivity between our regions. I'm sure that the signed agreements will mark the beginning of new contacts, projects, and opportunities. Today we're laying the cornerstone of another bridge of cooperation and friendship between Italy and Slovakia," stated Pellegrini, who received the Silver Seal of the Aldo Moro University in Bari. It is awarded to prominent figures for scientific, institutional, or cultural contributions. am