Deputy Minister Marina Sereni presided over the third annual meeting of the Joint Committee for Development Cooperation, also attended by the Director General for Development Cooperation, Fabio Cassese, the Director of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, Luca Maestripieri, and, limited to issues related to aid credits, the General Manager of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ms. Francesca Utili, delegated by the Director General of the Treasury.
Mr. Giulio Dal Magro also spoke to present two initiatives of the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti that are being approved by the Committee, and the Director General for Italian Citizens Abroad and Migration Policies, Luigi Maria Vignali, disclosed information on the projects under the Migration Fund.
During the meeting, a significant package of cooperation initiatives was approved, for a total value of 125.3 million euros, and in particular: two initiatives for Ethiopia in the areas of rural development and water resources management, which provide for a total aid credit component of 34 million euros and a grant component of 12.5 million euros. An initiative to promote the sustainable development of eight Countries in the Caribbean Community (Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname) was also approved, with an aid credit component of 50 million euros and a grant component of 2.5 million euros to be implemented through the Caribbean Development Bank.
Approximately 21.8 million euros in voluntary contributions to International Organizations – including GEF, IOM, UNDCO, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNRWA and WHO – and approximately 4.5 million euros to implement two initiatives, one in Bosnia and Herzegovina – to support rural development in collaboration with CIHEAM – and one in Syria – for the healthcare sector, in collaboration with WHO – were approved.
During the meeting, Deputy Minister Sereni also presented the busy agenda awaiting the Cooperation sector in the coming months, starting with the second edition of the National Public Conference (Co-opera 2022) to be held in Rome on 23 and 24 June.
