Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Claudia Emanuela Del Re, was in official visit to Geneva on 18 and 19 March 2019, accompanied by the Director General for Development Cooperation, Min. Plen. Giorgio Marrapodi, and by the Permanent Representative of Italy to the International Organizations in Geneva, Ambassador Gian Lorenzo Cornado.
During his staying in Geneva, the Deputy Minister had a chance to meet with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, with whom she discussed some of the main humanitarian priorities and the rich cooperation between Italy and the Office of the High Commissioner in many crisis contexts.
At the Geneva “Health Campus”, the Deputu Minister met with the CEO of GAVI (“The Vaccines Alliance”), Seth Berkley, and the Chief of Staff of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tubercolosis and Malaria, Marijke Wijnroks. the developments for the creation of a Global Health infrastructure to step up the achievement of SDG 3 was at centre of discussions with both of them. The Deputy Minister reaffirmed Italy’s support to the two organizations, also in view of the two “replenishment” events.
The Deputy Minister also visited the headquarters of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, where he met with Francesco Rocca, President of the Italian Red Cross and, since November 2017, of the federation itself. The meeting provided with an opportunity for an exchange of views on the main humanitarian crisis and on the Italian supporto to the Federation’s activities and, through the Federation, to National Societies which are working on the field in humanitarian assistance to civilians in case of emergencies and natural disasters.
The Deputy Minister had a business meeting with representatives of WHO, UN-Water and other UN agencies to discuss the Italian initiative aimed at establishing an International Day against child diarrhea, future steps and concrete activities in the fields of access to drinkable water, sanitation and hygiene.
On this topic, the Deputy Minister also took part, before going back to Rome, to the celebrations of the World Water Day in Geneva, during which the World Water Development Report was launched. The report is prepared by the World Water Assessment Programme, whose offices are in Perugia. The participation of the Deputy Minister gave visibility to the importance of this Institute, funded by the Italian Government.
