Raffaele Festa also met with the governor of Santa Catarina
The Consul General of Italy in Curitiba, Raffaele Festa, was at the Legislative Assembly this Monday (28) for an institutional visit. The main topic was the establishment of an Italian consulate in Santa Catarina.
The diplomat was received at the presidency of the House by deputy Valdir Cobalchini (MDB). Festa asked for parliament's support for projects of interest to the Italian government in Santa Catarina – including the consular unit – and spoke about the consular service in the state.
A historic demand of the Italian community in Santa Catarina, the consular unit was promised by former governor Eduardo Pinho Moreira (MDB) who signaled at the end of his term the transfer of the available space in the State Administrative Center, in the Saco Grande neighborhood.
However, authorization will be given by the current Legislative Assembly of Santa Catarina, which is expected to resume the matter in February.
“In Paraná and Santa Catarina, which are the states under the jurisdiction of the Curitiba consulate, we have 4 million people from Italy”, he highlighted.
Rafaelle Festa was received by deputy Cobalchini. Photo: Guto Kuerten/Agência AL
According to Festa, many Italian-Santa Catarina people go to the consulate in the capital of Paraná in search of services that could be carried out by consular agents working in Santa Catarina.
In the morning, Festa met with governor Carlos Moisés da Silva (PSL), also to reinforce cooperation between the state and Italy.
During the meeting, at Casa d'Agronomia, a series of opportunities were highlighted that can boost business in the tourism sector, in Infrastructure and Education, with the encouragement of teaching the Italian language.
“Exchange is fundamental, but we want to go further and attract investors to build and produce here too”, said Moisés.
The strong presence of Italian immigration in Santa Catarina is an additional attraction to consolidate partnerships. According to the consul, Italy has good proposals to present in the areas of basic health, training of Public Security agents, in the area of Technology and Tourism. “We want to increasingly strengthen this exchange”, reinforced Festa.
In the first meeting between the authorities, the possibility of installing a consulate headquarters in Santa Catarina was discussed. The idea must be deepened in due course. The consul recalled that, in the meantime, the services of the Curitiba consulate are already provided in a decentralized manner in at least 11 cities in Santa Catarina, including Joinville, Florianópolis, Blumenau and Chapecó.
The Secretaries of State for Education, Natalino Uggioni, for Sustainable Economic Development, Lucas Esmeraldino, and for Communication, Ricardo Dias, as well as the honorary consul of Italy in Florianópolis, Attílio Colitti, participated in the meeting.
