This is a fundamental year in the history of Hong Kong. It is going to be an important time also in the history of Italy, with the chance to exploit new sources of progress and growth, if it manages to complete the process of renewal started a few years ago.
Like other countries with a century-old tradition, the nation I have the honour to represent here has undergone several important changes in recent years.
The process is not yet over but we may acknowledge that tireless efforts of an independent judiciary paved the way for a process of modernisation of the political system, in the full respect of the democratic values of our society.
This kind of pacific revolution did not spare the economic field.
Budget deficits and the inflation rate have been put under control and will hopefully allow Italy to qualify for the European Monetary Union enshrined in the Maastricht Treaty.
As a matter of fact, the battle for slashing inflation, keeping the currency stable and reducing the huge burden of the public debt is an uphill one, but the prospects are good (the yearly rate of inflation, for example, now averages around two per cent).