The Ambassador of Italy to India Daniele Mancini visited the Goa Institute of Management, Sanquelim campus recently and addressed the students in an interactive session as a part of his efforts to explore the niches and trending sectors in Goa to strengthen bilateral relations between India and Italy.
In his address to the students, he spoke of the need for the students as future leaders to take nothing for granted and to think strategically in a broader scale to create solutions for the rapidly changing world. According to him, the ‘Global South’ – including parts of Asia, Africa, and South America, that were typically just seen as a source of raw materials and labour for the Western nations is “emerging rapidly and becoming a major protagonist in foreign relations”.
Citing the example of the Syrian crisis and the collaborative effort by the U.S., Russia, France and other countries in eliminating chemical weapons there, his Excellency observed that no single country is “completely in charge” anymore. He remarked that “when no single country has the capacity to stop a war in that small a country anymore; what if war erupts in a much bigger and more significant country”?
Exhorting the students of GIM to take charge by considering the fact that “nothing exists that cannot be undone or redone in a different fashion”, the Italian ambassador stated that it time to ride the megatrends and recognize the game-changers. He explained to the students that everything is interconnected and encouraged them not to ignore the challenges of “climate change, the exploding demographics, and the large number of weak financial institutions”.
The Ambassador observed that with India and Italy “having the common denominator of being civilizations shaped by the values of our rich cultures”, there are lots of opportunities to strengthen the bilateral relationship and encourage traditional initiatives. He concluded by with the passion for design and decoration that Goans have, Goa can well be “a hub for creativity and design”.