The Italian Under-Secretary of Defence, On. Giorgio Mulè, accompanied by the Italian Ambassador in Pristina, Antonello De Riu, and by the Chief of Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Pietro Serino, visited the Command of KFOR mission in Kosovo. They were received by the Vice- Commander of KFOR Multinational Force, Brigadier General Luca Piperni, and later they were greeted by KFOR Commander, General of Division Ferenc Kajári, at the base of “Film City”, headquarter of NATO Command of Force.
The Under-Secretary and the Chief of Staff then met the Italian army personnel deployed in the Kosovo Force. In the welcome address, the Under-Secretary said: “I’m glad to be here with you, as Christmas holidays approach, and to have the honor to represent the Italian Government in a meeting that wants to be nothing more than a moment of sharing, closeness and spirit of belonging regarding what you represent. The value of your commitment in this international theater is more decisive than you think. Because it does not only regard the stabilization of an area, peacekeeping or the exportation of constitutional and inalienable values. It regards the recovery of a country, of a generation who was born in the shadow of this flag, of these values. It regards the hope of a better future, a future of salvation, of that hope that gets to our hearts with Christmas. I wish you a Christmas that can give you the strength and the tenacity to firmly believe that ‘the hope’ that you are handing over the young and the children, is perhaps the greatest ambition of a soldier. I wish you the joy of nativity to light up in your hearts. May God bless you and your families”.
The Chief of Staff of the Army underlined that “the Italian Army will keep providing its effective support to NATO in terms of highly qualified personnel and vehicles for the consolidation of peace in this territory, whose stability is of primary importance for the security of the entire Balkan region”. After that, he addressed his wishes on the behalf of the whole Army: “Merry Christmas to you and to all your families who, despite the distance, are present in your hearts as you are in the ones of your dearests”.
In the afternoon the Under-Secretary and the Chief of Staff of the Army, accompanied by Ambassador De Riu and General Piperni, met the Italian staff deployed at “Villaggio Italia” as part of the Regional Command West, on the basis 185° Reggimento Artiglieria Paracadutisti, led by Colonel Andrea Bertazzo, to whom they expressed deep appreciation for their professionalism, dedication, altruism and for the results of absolute importance gained during the whole mandate.
