The Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Lapo Pistelli, has welcomed the allocation of an additional 10 million euros for Development Cooperation in the Stability Law for 2014.
“I wish to thank the proposer and the Parliament, which grasped the importance of this additional signal. With 10 million euros added to our cooperation budget, we have gone the extra mile and reached our goal. For the second year running, our cooperation effort is growing and keeping to the promise of a 10% increase in resources. This is a realistic course of action allowing a gradual realignment of Italy with our European partners.
It is an investment in peace, conflict prevention and sustainable development, and it is an investment in our European and international credibility”.
With this investment, the goal set by the Economic and Finance Document for 2013 has been reached in full. “This is a vitally important goal. It will enable us not just to ensure that Italian Development Cooperation can operate effectively but also to confirm the gradual realignment of our country’s Public Development Aid with international parameters. And it will enable us to honour the commitments taken in various multilateral fora”.
“We are now counting on Parliament’s close analysis, in a spirit of consensus, of the bill to reform the law on international cooperation, which the Council of Ministers will soon be examining”.
