Directorate General for Development Cooperation

Director General
Elisabetta Belloni

Deputy Director General/Principal Director for the Planning and Execution of Cooperation Interventions
Mario Sammartino

Deputy Director General/Principal Director for General and Administrative Cooperation Affairs
Barbara Bregato

Telephone 06 3691 4215
Fax 06 3691 4997

Office I – Development cooperation policies within the European Union

• Relations with the European Union, in liaison with the relevant Directorates and in compliance with the Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning (CIPE) and the Steering Committee guidelines on matters concerning development cooperation strategies and policies, including the Development Board;
• relations with the European Investment Bank, in the development cooperation sector;
• participation in management committees (most notably the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) and European Social Fund (ESF)) in liaison with the relevant Directorates and implementation of development programmes approved in these contexts;
• EU delegated development cooperation;
• promotion of inter-donor relations.

Office II – Multilateral development cooperation

• Relations with international organisations and multilateral forums, including the International Financial Organisations, in the development cooperation sector.

Office III – Development aid to the countries of Eastern and Balkans Europe, the Mediterranean region, the Middle East and Central Asia

• Development cooperation planning and initiatives in the countries and for the peoples of the Balkans and Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean region, the Middle East and Central Asia, in compliance with Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning (CIPE) and Steering Committee guidelines.

Office IV – Aid to development in Sub-Saharan Africa

• Development cooperation planning and initiatives in the countries and for the peoples of Sub-Saharan Africa, in compliance with Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning (CIPE) and Steering Committee guidelines.

Office V – Development Aid to the Countries of Asia, Oceania and Latin America

• Development cooperation planning and initiatives in the countries and for the peoples of Asia, Oceania and Latin America, in compliance with Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning (CIPE) and Steering Committee guidelines.

Office VI – Emergency and Humanitarian Aid

• Planning and implementation of emergency and humanitarian aid.

Office VII – Development Cooperation and civil society, non-governmental and volunteer organisations

• Assessment of non-governmental organisations;
• admissibility of NGO projects and granting of related contributions;
• questions regarding the legal, economic and social security status of NGO volunteers and cooperation workers.

Office VIII – Planning and monitoring of the cooperation budget; gender issues, rights of children and people with disabilities

• Cooperation strategies and sector policies, relating inter alia to gender, disabilities and minors;
• budgets and financial planning;
• Agricultural Price Statistics (APS), studies and databases;
• inter-institutional relations, Aid Effectiveness and Policy Coherence for Development (PCD), also with regard to the Millennium Goals;
• relations with Parliament;
• relations with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria;
• soft loans and development cooperation programmes financed through debt cancellation or conversion.

Office IX – Assessment and visibility of development programmes

• On-going and ex-post assessment of initiatives, feedback and follow-up of results;
• visibility of Italy’s commitment.

Office X – Legal and accounting matters, soft loan financial management

• Legal advice on matters in the Directorate’s remit;
• activities in relation to disputes, in collaboration with the Legal Service, including deeds of settlement and arbitration awards;
• financial management of soft loans and debt cancellation or conversion initiatives.

Office XI – Management and enhancement of material resources

• Purchases and operational expenses of the Directorate General, maintenance of real estate pursuant to article 23(1)(b) of Presidential decree 177/1988, and of equipment and inventory;
• verification of requirements and provision of funds to missions abroad for the operation of Local Technical Units, and checking of their accounts.

Office XII – Management and enhancement of human resources

• Questions regarding the legal status and remuneration of non-MFA personnel working with the Directorate and the Local Technical Units, including any related tax and social security requirements;
• settlement and payment of overtime to Directorate staff;
• dispatch of Directorate staff on missions and settlement and payment of related reimbursements and allowances.

Central Technical Unit: activities pursuant to article 12 of Law no. 49/1987.

• Technical support for the activities of the Directorate General in the early stages of identification, assessment, formulation, management and supervision of development programmes;
• studies and research in the field of development cooperation