Ambassador D’Alessandro visits “Charles de Gaulle” Aircraft Carrier

Within the framework of the Italian-French cooperation initiatives envisaged in the Quirinale Treaty, on 14 and 15 February, the Italian Ambassador to France, Emanuela D'Alessandro, visited the French aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle".

Together with the Defence Attaché, Gen. B. Marco Buscemi and the Deputy Defence Attaché, CV Giuseppe Radicchio, the Ambassador was received by Admiral Gilles Boidevezi, Commander-in-Chief and Maritime Prefect of the Mediterranean (CECMED) and the Captain of Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, Georges-Antoine Florentin. The NATO's Assistant Secretary-General for Public Diplomacy, Marie-Doha Besancenot, also attended the visit.

The two-day visit was a chance to showcase daytime and nighttime take-offs and aerial tracking, as well as the French aircraft carrier's leading military, operational and technological capabilities. Visitors were also provided with an overview of the latest and future maritime operations with NATO and Italy, starting from the following joint drill with the Cavour aircraft carrier envisaged by the "Mare Aperto" mission.

While addressing the Charles de Gaulle crew, Ambassador D'Alessandro opened her speech by "thanking them for the extraordinary reception, an impressive demonstration of effectiveness, technological excellence, and operability". The Ambassador also recalled how the Quirinale Treaty recognises the central role played by bilateral maritime cooperation in the field of defence, "a role made even more strategic in facing the current geo-political situation from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, from the Gulf of Guinea to the Indo-Pacific Ocean: quadrants in which Italy and France play a leading role in protecting security, freedom of navigation and priority national and Euro-Atlantic interests".

"Italy and France", continued the Ambassador while recalling all the meetings held between the Ministries of Defence Crosetto and Lecornu, "share vital maritime interests: our peoples have ancient maritime traditions, and the sea is part of their DNAs". "Today's crises", said the Ambassador, "force us to look at the sea and undertake our responsibilities: as the humanitarian and non-humanitarian operations in Gaza and Egypt with Vulcano and Dixmude, or the coming launch of mission Aspides in the Red Sea, or the next campaigns in the Indo-Pacific area. Italian-French maritime cooperation restates its centrality and strengthens the interoperability framework at the basis of the NATO Alliance and a stronger Europe in the world".

"Italy", said the Ambassador, "has made a fundamental change in its maritime security policy. It is no coincidence that such change has happened during the Italian Presidency of the G7, which will also focus on international security priorities, freedom of navigation and international trade".

"Long live the Charles de Gaulle carrier, long live the Cavour carrier and long live Italian-French cooperation for a stronger Europe and NATO in the world!" concluded Ambassador D'Alessandro, paying tribute to all the women and men of the crew of the French aircraft carrier.