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Sampoli
New Italian Ambassador to Costa
Rica
Leonardo Sampoli has been named
the new Italian ambassador in
Costa Rica.
Sampoli replaces
Gioacchino Trizzino.
Sampoli, born in Siena in 1941,
has held various posts in his
career, including first
secretary in Ankara and Warsaw;
consul general in Lausanne and
Toronto and head of ceremonies
at the Italian foreign office.
In 2003 Italy and Costa Rica
reaffirmed relations after
nearly 20 years of bad blood,
following an agreement under
which Costa Rica agreed to pay
back an old, disputed loan.
The us$12.9-million loan was
made in 1983 during the
administration of Luis Alberto
Monge (1982-1986). Italy
intended the money to be used in
the construction of a dry dock
in Puntarenas.
But in August of 1985, shortly
after both countries signed the
agreement and the money was
transferred, public lawsuits
halted the project. Critics
argued that the Costa Rican
Pacific Port Authority (INCOP),
which acted as recipient of the
loan by permission of an
executive decree, did not have
the authority to carry out the
project.
Because Costa Rica did not
return the money, both nations
submitted to arbitration on
Sept. 11, 1997. The Arbitration
Tribunal ruled in Italy's favor,
ordering Costa Rica to pay back
the us$12.9 million plus
interest, which amounts to us$15
million.
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