Italy's new foreign minister Luigi Di Maio has appointed ambassador to China Francesco Sequi, a seasoned diplomat, as his chief of staff, the foreign ministry said in a statement at the weekend.
“In these years as Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies, Deputy Prime Minister and Economic Development Minister, I had the opportunity to personally verify the important role played by the Italian diplomatic corps in the world,” said Di Maio, cited by the statement.
"Sequi is a diplomat with a long-standing experience, foresightedness, dynamic and knowledgeable, with whom I am sure we will successfully work to keep Italy at centre-stage on the international scene, he said.
"It will be an honour for me to have him as my Chief of Staff at the Foreign Ministry," Di Maio.
Foreign policy, conducted within the framework of the alliances to which Italy is traditionally and historically linked, can provide the country with an opportunity for growth, Di Maio said.
During Di Maio's 14-month tenure as Economic Development minister in the populist-far-right coalition government between his 5-Star Movement and the League party, Italy signed up to China's vast ‘New Silk Road’ infrastructure project linking Asia with Europe, he recalled.
The 'New Silk Road' project, "a new great opportunity" for Italian companies is one of many on which Sequi has worked in his long career, Di Maio stated.
