Slovak President Peter Pellegrini opened a new honorary consulate in the southern Italian city of Bari early Thursday evening with the aim of supporting innovation and providing assistance to citizens of the Slovak Republic in Puglia. Salvatore Chionno has been the honorary consul of Slovakia for the Apulia region since 2024.
“In the Republic of Italy, we are strengthening the network of honorary consulates, the north and the center are well covered, and that is why we concentrated on the southern part, both Bari and Sicily. I am glad that today we are already located directly on the grounds of the Slovak honorary consulate in the center 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 president.
The delegation included representatives of eight Slovak universities, the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava and Košice airports and other Slovak companies. They signed memoranda with their Italian partners on cooperation in the field of self-government, education, economy and transport.
The cities of Liptovský Mikuláš and Bari declared their intention to develop cooperation, especially in the field of organizing joint events, exchange of experience in receiving visitors, cooperation between schools and implementation of common European goals. Pellegrini believes that the cooperation will bring many concrete and inspiring projects.
One of the goals of the president’s visit was to strengthen the university dialogue, academic and scientific exchange between Slovak and Italian entities and to expand it to include the southern Italian region of Apulia. The Slovak universities from Košice, Trnava, Nitra, Bratislava and Banská Bystrica therefore signed memorandums of cooperation with the Aldo Mora University in Bari, the Polytechnic University and the Free Mediterranean University at the Municipal Office in Bari.
“The field of education and research is one of the key topics of Slovak-Italian relations. High-quality education and moral values, which are the carriers of the universities, represent the basic pillar of the formation of new generations,” reminded Pellegrini. According to him, the cooperation between the SARIO agency and Confindustria Bari will create a framework for the systematic support of business and investment activities. He is convinced that this will lead to the growth of mutual exchange and the prosperity of the citizens of both countries.
„Last but not least, the agreement between the airports in Bari, Bratislava and Košice will create conditions for greater connectivity between our regions. I am convinced that the signed agreements will be the beginning of new contacts, projects and opportunities. Today we are laying the foundation stone of another bridge of cooperation and friendship between Italy and Slovakia,” concludes Pellegrini, who received the Silver Seal of the University of Aldo Mora in Bari. It is awarded to important personalities for scientific, institutional or cultural contributions.
