On July 1st, 2020, in London was held the inaugural meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on San Marino. The meeting took place via Zoom and benefited from the participation of 16 members of both Houses of the Parliaments and was moderated by Mr Andrew Rosindell MP.
At the above meeting, Dr Maurizio Bragagni, Honorary Consul of San Marino in the UK, briefed the participants on the state of the bilateral relations between the UK and San Marino. He stressed the importance of creating in Westminster for the first time ever of APPG, which is a remarkable event in the long history of bilateral relations between two unique sovereign states, that have much in common and share the values of democracy and of globalisation.
After briefly mentioning some important historical and socio-economical facts about San Marino, Dr Bragagni concluded by saying that the APPG on San Marino is the first step in forging a noble alliance between the two countries and it will help in boosting our bilateral relations.
The Lords and MPs thanked Dr Bragagni for the presentation and were engaged in a dynamic session of exchanging their experiences on San Marino, on its role in world history and its place in the family of sovereign states. They unanimously expressed their support for the establishment of the APPG and pledged to support its functioning and activities.
After lively discussions, the meeting proceeded with the elections of the officers of the APPG on San Marino. Chairman of the group was elected Mr Andrew Rosindell MP, whereas Sir George Howarth MP was elected President and Mr Henry Smith MP Secretary of the group. In addition, there were elected 11 Vice-Chairs of the group. The APPG on San Marino benefits from the membership of Lords and MP from a wide spectrum of the UK political parties.
The newly elected Chairman, Mr Rosindell, expressed his gratitude to the members for their trust and his commitment to actively work with parliamentarians to boost diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries.
At the end of the meeting, Dr Bragagni congratulated the members and officers of the APPG, and offered the full cooperation of the Honorary Consulate. He extended to them an open invitation to visit San Marino. The invitation was gladly accepted with a potential visit to San Marino in autumn this year or later on.
