The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

16 Oct 2000 - Speech given by The Queen at the State Banquet, Quirinale Palace,
Rome

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen

May I start by thanking you, Mr. President, for your kind words of welcome. It is the greatest pleasure for both Prince Philip and me to return to Italy. We first came here nearly fifty years ago in 1951 from Malta, and we have the happiest memories of our previous State Visits in 1961 and 1980.

On this my third State Visit it is a particular privilege to be in Rome during this Millennium year. I have already been able to see something of how splendid your city is looking for the occasion. I can only admire the vision and application of those many people who have worked to prepare for this Jubilee.

May I take this opportunity to mention the torrential floods which have caused such damage in the north of your country over the weekend. Regions in both our countries have suffered badly from floods in recent days and I would like to express my heartfelt sympathy to all those in both our countries who have been affected by these disasters, including in particular the families of those who have tragically lost their lives in Northern Italy.

Throughout its long history, longer by far than the two millennia which we celebrate this year, your country has had an astonishing capacity to attract and influence the rest of the world - including in particular those from my country. Through its achievements, its inventions, its culture and its way of life, Italy captivates us all in a direct and personal way. Generations of British travellers, including many members of my family, have over the years been drawn
inexorably to your land to discover for themselves the creative genius here which has done so much to define western civilisation as we now know it.

But happily travel to Italy is today not the preserve of a few on the Grand Tour. Millions now follow in the footsteps of those early visitors. Italy and the United Kingdom are drawn together by an ever-expanding web of contacts and links between our two peoples.

Italian and British artists and designers, bankers and entrepreneurs cross the Alps and the Channel, those two great natural frontiers, in search of inspiration in each other's cities. Local groups in Scotland and elsewhere trace their ancestry back to Italy. And these days I expect your compatriots to the north of here wonder at the thriving British communities who have discovered the paradise of Tuscany. Our singers, actors and sports teams are household names in both Britain and Italy. Football alone brings together thousands of supporters to each other's countries, as it will tomorrow at the stadium here in Rome.

And our young people do not just visit: they stay and study in each other's universities and colleges. Theirs is the future and we need to encourage in every way this vital investment, from school level onwards

With so much going on each day between our peoples, we should not be surprised at the ever-increasing co-operation at government level. We share values and we share commitments - in the European Union, in NATO and in the G8. We are two very different nations - the one Atlantic and the other Mediterranean. Yet we find so much in our
rapidly changing world which makes us natural partners. In Western Europe we have now enjoyed freedom, and with it growing prosperity and security, for over half a century. Countries in Eastern Europe have emerged more recently from dictatorship and tyranny.

For those whose economies and institutions are prepared for it, the European Union is a natural home. The United Kingdom is committed to ensuring that it is a home whose doors are open in welcome.

Others to the East of us have had a longer struggle for freedom. The British people, like the Italian people, have been moved and outraged by the suffering of the people in the Balkans. For many of them, the collapse of communism meant not freedom but civil war, persecution and hardship. We rejoice that the prospect is opening up for all the states of former Yugoslavia of joining the European mainstream.

This has brought the United Kingdom and Italy even closer together. For Italy, that troubled region is a near neighbour. You have worked tirelessly with friends and allies to bring it stability. Britain's armed forces and civilians have been heavily engaged there too with your outstanding support. Our armed forces continue to serve alongside each other in Kosovo, and British troops are now being led by the Italian commander of the KFOR who took command today.

Our defence relationship has never been stronger. So it is especially appropriate that, during my visit to Rome, I shall be able to meet British and Italian military personnnel who have served together in an effort to bring to people in the Balkans the reality of the fundamental right to live in peace and security.

The United Kingdom and Italy are both leading world economies and we are amongst each other's most important commercial partners. Under the impetus of globalisation and new technology, the way in which we do business is changing before our eyes. We are both well placed to benefit from these trends. I look forward to my visit to Milan later this week, to see for myself how the commercial skills of our two great countries combine to strengthen us both.

It gives me special pleasure, President Ciampi, to recognise that popular affection and shared interests of the present, as well as our common approaches to the future, combined always with a celebration of such a rich past, are at the heart of our relationship today. This for me is the significance of this State Visit and of these next few days in Italy.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I ask you all to stand and join me in a toast to `the President and the people of Italy'.