US Delegation Visits Summit Site on Island of La Maddalena
14/01/2009 Delegations from the countries involved in the upcoming G8 Summit on the island of La Maddalena in July have begun to inspect the site. These are preparatory visits which will allow the representatives of the various governments to gain initial familiarity with the area and with the structures in which the Summit will be held, and to plan organisational, logistical and security aspects.
The first G8 delegation to visit the island was the US delegation led by Elisabeth Dibble, deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Rome.
The delegation consisted of about 20 people who landed yesterday at Olbia airport, where they conducted an initial inspection. They later travelled to Palau and sailed from there to the island of La Maddalena. The delegation was met on the island by G8 Commissioner Delegate Guido Bertolaso. After an initial briefing and luncheon at the Naval Officers' Club, Bertolaso explained the work being done at the military Arsenal and surrounding areas. Meetings were then held to address various organisational and security aspects.
Accompanied by Commissioner Delegate Bertolaso, the delegation went on to visit the venues where the Summit is to be hosted: the area where the buildings designated for the delegates (lodgings and working areas) are under construction; the room in which the actual meetings between the heads of state and government leaders will take place; and the Media Centre area. The US Government representatives had an opportunity to conduct a detailed inspection of the progress, and they came away with a positive impression of the effort fielded by the Commissioner Delegate.
Today the delegation conducted an inspection of the island of Caprera, famous for its past as the final residence of Giuseppe Garibaldi. A number of collateral events and meetings are due to be held on the island. The official visit wound up with a meeting at the Civil Protection Department's head office in Rome, in the presence of Commissioner Delegate Guido Bertolaso. A further inspection is scheduled to take place in the coming months, once the work on the construction sites has been completed. The Russian delegation will be visiting La Maddalena next, according to the outline calendar that will be published in the pages devoted to the summit venue on this website.
