The "Charter of Race" was enacted in July 1938. It declared Italians to be Aryans and established laws which restricted Jews and Africans. (Prior to this, Jews had been welcome members of the Fascist movement.)
I would guess that this statement was linked to a campaign to implement the laws, although it may have just been verbiage to appease their new partners.
Here’s an anecdotal reference to the 1939 campaign:
“Balbo visited Genoa in 1939, while the anti-Semitic campaign was taking place. Teglio, along with his wife, parents, brother, sisters, and many others flooded the streets to greet Balbo as he flew into Genoa’s harbor by hydroplane. When he came ashore, Balbo spotted Teglio and motioned him to come over. After warmly shaking his hand, Balbo asked Teglio, “Is there anyone else here from your family?” “They’re all here!” Teglio responded. Before the crowd of several hundred, Balbo made a point of greeting the family of his Jewish friend first. “Afterward,” Teglio recalled, “I asked Balbo’s copilot, ‘He knows I’m Jewish, doesn’t he?’ and the copilot responded, ‘He did it intentionally.’”
http://www.acjna.org/acjna/articles_detail.aspx?id=300