The Grand Chancellor of the Order, Amb. Carlo Marullo di Condojanni, received the President of the Dominican Republic, Hipólito Mejía and his wife, on a visit to the Grand Magistry on 3 July.

The wife of the Grand Chancellor, Donna Elisabetta, the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Francesco Guariglia, and the respective Ambassadors were present at the meetings, which took place in the Grand Master’s Villa on the Aventine Hill.

The Order of Malta works in the Dominican Republic through the Association of Dominican Knights in joint action with its Embassy, managing health and welfare structures for the needy. It has recently opened a Mother and Child Centre for helping abandoned mothers and their children affected by AIDS.

The Grand Magistry is currently studying the establishment of a section of the Order’s International Academy in Santo Domingo for training the future diplomatic cadres, which will operate in the Latin American area and co-operate with the Order’s national and international bodies to start preparing the meeting of Latin American Ambassadors to be held in 2002.