Tomorrow, 9 January, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Angelino Alfano, will be in New York to attend the first meeting of the Security Council following the mandate conferred to Italy as a non-permanent member of the UNSC for 2017, where he will meet the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, and the other members of the Security Council.
The issues on the agenda include: the priorities of Italy’s mandate within the UNSC; major international topics, especially the situation in Libya and Syria; combating terrorism and religious extremism; and the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and climate change.
Following a tour of the exhibition “Pillars of Cooperation”, organised by Italy and The Netherlands at the UN Building, the Minister’s agenda for Tuesday will include his participation in an open debate of the UNSC on Sustainable Peace and Conflict Prevention, scheduled at 10 a.m. at the Security Council. Minister Alfano’s presence will offer the opportunity to discuss the ways of making the UN’s conflict prevention actions more effective, with a special focus on the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon, by not only reinforcing the civil and political scope of the missions’ mandates but also including therein the protection of cultural diversity. At the end of the debate, the Minister will meet journalists for a short press point at 10:40 a.m.
After a luncheon with the Heads of the delegations of the other Foreign Ministers member of UNSC, his visit will continue with a bilateral meeting with Secretary-General Guterres at 3:15 p.m. and with the President of the UN General Assembly Thomson at 4 p.m. The Minister will have another meeting with the press at 4:30 p.m. before flying back to Rome.