Venezuela will top the agenda during foreign minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi's trip this week to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, aimed at cementing ties with a region "of utmost priority for Italian interests," foreign ministry said in a statement.
"A special focus shall be placed on the dramatic events under way in Venezuela, with the humanitarian emergency and the serious political crisis affecting the country," said the statement.
A least four people were killed and hundreds injured in a wave of violence at Venezuela’s border regions on Saturday, as opposition activists tried to defy a ban by embattled leftist president Nicolas Maduro's government and to bring food and medical supplies into the crisis-hit country.
After the failed attempt to breach government blockades, opposition leader Juan Guaido vowed the fight would continue and said: "we must keep all our options open for the liberation of our homeland”.
Moavero's trip to South America aims to boost political, economic and trade ties "with a region of the world that is of utmost priority for Italian interests" , both strictly political as well as economic and commercial," the statement said.
Italy has "special age-old and deep ties" with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, which are strengthened by the large numbers of Italian in the three nations and "a numerous and very well integrated community of Italian descent", said the statement.
During his visit, Moavero will meet institutional representatives, as well as those of the local business and Italian communities, the statement noted.
"For over a century now, the Italian community has been making a large and fruitful contribution to the culture and to the economic, social and political growth of the three countries," the statement said.
Moavero's talks will also cover the long-running negotiations on a trade deal between the European Union and the Mercosur bloc, the statement added.
