Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs Angelino Alfano announced on Monday that it is sending Giampaolo Cantini on 14 September as Italian ambassador to Egypt to fill the position that has been vaccant for more than a year , state-run news agency MENA reported. Meanwhile, Egypt is also sending Hesham Badr as its new ambassador to Rome on the same day, said MENA. Alfano made the announcement during a session of the foreign affairs committee at the Italian parliament, according to Italy's AGI new agency. "Egypt is an inextricable partner of Italy, and also Italy is an inextricable partner of Egypt," said Alfano. "Therefore, it is impossible for our countries not to have high-level political and diplomatic dialogue." Alfano also said that sending Cantini to Cairo is intended to consolidate the political and ethical obligations of the Italian government regarding the search for the truth about the murder of Italian researcher Guilio Regeni. Alfano also told the Italian parliament that the Regeni case was "a serious injury for our conscience, for all of us and for the whole country," Italian news agency ANSA reported. He added: "The day the body of Giulio Regeni was found, bilateral relations suffered a big blow." In mid-August Alfano announced that an Italian ambassador would return to Cairo more than a year after the envoy was recalled in the wake of the death of Regeni. Regeni was conducting research on trade unions before he went missing on January 25 last year. His body was found with signs of torture on 3 February on the outskirts of the capital. Rome recalled its ambassador to Cairo in April 2016, expressing concerns about the alleged lack of transparency in Egypt's investigations. Egyptian authorities have been conducting an investigation to determine who killed Regeni and is updating Rome on developments. Egypt's top proesecutor visited Rome more than once since April 2016 to share information related to the ongoing inquiry with his Italian counterpart.
