Foreign minister Luigi Di Maio on Thursday welcomed Italy's election to UNESCO's World Heritage Committee for the first time in 20 years, saying the "very important" and "brilliant" result cemented the country's "absolute pre-eminence" as a partner of the UN culture organisation.
"This very important result is the fruit of work by the foreign ministry, Italy's permanent representation to UNESCO and its entire diplomatic network, in close collaboration with the culture ministry," Di Maio said in a statement.
"It crowns our traditional commitment to the protection of cultural and natural heritage and requires us to further intensify international cooperation to be able to respond to the global challenges that jeopardise this heritage," Di Maio went on.
The "brilliant result" comes after Italy's election to UNESCO's Executive Council (from 2019-2023) and the recent addition of three new World Heritage sites, bringing the total to 58 - the highest of any country in the world, Di Maio noted.
"All this increasingly makes Italy a UNESCO partner of absolute pre-eminence," Di Maio underlined.
Italy was a candidate for membership of the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee within the Europe and North America group, together with Greece and Belgium.
It was elected in the first round of voting by a wide margin of consensus from member states.
The elections for the World Heritage Committee's partial renewal were held on the sidelines of the 41st UNESCO General Conference.
World Heritage Committee has the final say on whether a site is inscribed on the World Heritage List
