Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni vows to learn from mistakes after being feted by Elon Musk

Good morning.

In my twenties, I reported throughout Asia and Africa, meeting numerous expats who would go on to take bigger leadership roles back home. Developing a global mindset, an ability to navigate cultures other than your own, was seen as a critical skill to hone if you wanted to lead a business. Today, the Fortune 500 itself is more global: About 10% of Fortune 500 CEOs are of Indian origin, and many others are immigrants from other nations.

I had an opportunity to speak with a globally diverse group of rising leaders in Texas yesterday at Deloitte’s Next Generation CEO Program. ( Deloitte sponsors this newsletter.) I talked with some about how their cultures shaped them as leaders and the importance of being able to engage across borders.

But let’s not ignore politics. This morning marks the opening of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Along with attracting heads of state and their teams, the week-long event also brings a mix of global business leaders to town. While many want to dismiss and even defund the UN, consider how many of its agencies enable business to operate at a global level . Consider how many of these meetings may open doors for new trade or business opportunities.

It's easy to divide the world into good and bad, or them and us. As the head of a far-right government, Giorgia Meloni sparked as much fear as rejoicing when she became Italy’s first female prime minister two years ago. And yet she has proven to be more of a defender of rights than someone who tramples on them, committed to protecting democratic institutions.

Last night, after Tesla CEO Elon Musk presented Meloni with one of the Atlantic Council’s Global Citizen Award for her “political and economic leadership” in Italy, the EU, and beyond, she spoke about democracy, equality and learning from mistakes. Here’s the full text of her speech . It will take more to calm fears in some quarters. What matters is having the conversations.

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Diane Brady
diane.brady@fortune.com
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This story was originally featured on Fortune.com