The third annual meeting of the Joint Development Cooperation Committee was held at the Farnesina today. The meeting was opened by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Enzo Moavero Milanesi, and chaired by the Deputy Foreign Minister with a portfolio for cooperation, Emanuela Del Re.
The Committee was called to decide on the contributions to be allocated to organisations and specialised agencies and on bilateral contributions for a total of more than 83 million Euros (83,253,790.00 Euros).
More specifically, the meeting approved 9 interventions in favour of African Countries (Guinea Conakry, Egypt, Mozambique, Tunisia and Sudan in addition to a regional intervention) worth more than 56 million Euros; 6 interventions in Middle Eastern Countries (Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria) worth approximately 9 million Euros; 1 intervention in Asia (Pakistan) worth 1 million Euros; 3 interventions in Latin America (Colombia, El Salvador, Bolivia) worth approximately 10 million Euros; and 1 call for tenders for global citizenship education worth 7 million Euros.
A report was presented at the meeting to illustrate the comprehensive framework of interventions liable to be financed under Art. 8 of Law 125/2014, with concessional loans granted from a fund set up at the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.
The meeting also analysed a Delegated Cooperation report on the performance and results achieved in the cooperation programmes assigned by the European Commission to the Directorate General for Development Cooperation of the Foreign Ministry from 2013 to date. The funding involved a comprehensive multiyear portfolio of 144.7 million euros spread on 14 programmes in 11 Countries, placing Italy in the shortlist of topmost Member States delivering European cooperation projects and the third-ranking Country assigned EU funds from the Valletta Trust Fund for projects aimed at tackling the deep-set causes of migration in Sub-Saharan Africa and Libya. At the same time, Italy confirms to also be engaged in the Middle East, as proven by its interventions in Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine, as well as in Latin America, thanks to the approval of projects in Colombia, El Salvador and Bolivia.
