The award was presented by the President and CEO of the FPA [2], Noel Lateef [3], in recognition of and as a sign of appreciation for "fifty years of outstanding work in promoting relations between the United States of America and Italy."
Introduced by journalist Pat Kiernan [4], news host of the television program "NY1 News," Caputo [5]was presented by the Consul General to New York, Minister Francesco Genuardi [6], who illustrated Caputo's long career and his numerous achievements (https://iwfinews.com/about-us/the-president/ [7]).

After thanking President Lateef for the prestigious award assigned to him and Minister Genuardi for his complimentary presentation, Caputo gave a speech on the current international situation, which was met with wide applause by the guests who filled the elegant room of the St. Regis.
Caputo emphasized that we live today in increasingly difficult times, especially in the international arena. After years of generally positive relations, we are now facing some serious international crises that will not be easily overcome.
"There are some areas of the world," said Caputo, "that present a certain degree of concern, including in North Africa, the Middle East and East Asia, and we are now facing terrorism, economic crises and mass migrations on an epic scale."

Caputo stressed that there is an exodus of biblical proportion to Europe, with unexpected consequences that are now undermining the existence of the European Union which is already dealing with economic and political problems, including Brexit [8]. The same EU that, in addition to all its other achievements, has produced over 70 years of peace and prosperity, after two wars that caused millions and millions of deaths.
Caputo also illustrated the new tensions currently existing between the United States and Europe, the complex relationship with Russia and the issues with North Korea. He mentioned that in several countries there have been recent changes in local governments. In others, such as Germany, Italy, Mexico, Brazil and Saudi Arabia, changes are also likely going to happen in the coming months that could modify the future international outlook. There will also be the mid-term elections in the U.S. next year, which in some way, could influence the country's foreign policy.

"The time available tonight," Caputo concluded, "does not allow for further analysis of the various international issues. I wish only to stress that in a world that presents so many complicated and dangerous issues, foreign policy should get more attention and should be more openly debated. In this context, the role and the function of the FPA have become of paramount importance. The FPA is the best forum to examine, discuss and underline international problems and impartially propose viable solutions." Caputo then invited the Association, which recently celebrated its 100 years of activity, to take on an even more active role and reiterated how deeply honored he was to receive the award.