ROME, APRIL 1 – Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation hosted the second annual conference on the Joint Committee on Cooperation and Development. The meeting was presided by the Ministry’s Vice Minister, Emanuela Del Re. The committee approved an initiative package of more than 111 million Euros, of which 85 million are to be used for formational education and employment programs in Jordan. Other bilateral packages were approved to support projects in Egypt, Sudan, and Palestine, as well as UN-sponsored projects.
In her opening remarks, Del Re began the conference by calling for a minute of silence in remembrance of the 157 victims from the Ethiopia Airline flight that crashed on March 10, of which eight passengers were Italians who were active members in global development and cooperation efforts. The Vice Minister then proceeded to highlight some moments from her recent trip to Geneva, where she co-chaired a meeting on the water sanitation during a forum of international organizations. Del Re noted that “the [clean water] campaign was in harmony with the Secretary-General’s recent appeal to focus on the themes of access to potable water and hygienic services.”
Following the Vice Minister’s introduction, the joint commission heard from Fabrizio Tassinari, Professor at the European University Institute, in a formational program for African leaders sponsored by the Fiesola Institute’s School of Transnational Governance.
