ROME – Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman’s three-day visit to Italy and San Marino, which ended on Wednesday, paved the way for a joint Italian-Israeli cabinet meeting to take place in Jerusalem in October and for cooperation at Expo 2015 in Milan.

Liberman was the first Israeli minister to visit San Marino, the oldest republic in the world (its constitution was enacted in 1600). An olive-tree planting ceremony attended by San Marino’s highest authorities renewed ties of friendship between the two countries.

Liberman dedicated four mobile maternity hospital structures in Mirandola, near Modena, on behalf of Israel, Canadian philanthropist Walter Arbib and United Israel Appeal. An earthquake hit Mirandola on May 29; at least 17 people died and 200 others were injured. Some 14,000 people were left homeless.

In subsequent meetings in Rome, common ground was found on numerous contemporary issues, including the necessity of the EU embargo on Iran.

Prime Minister Mario Monti assured Liberman that Italy would always “feel a political and moral responsibility... to support Israel’s security.”

He added that “when anti-Semitism becomes the flag post of those who call for the destruction of Israel... our response needs to be firm.”

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