Mission to New York of the Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Vincenzo Amendola. The Italian government representative is at the UN building to represent Italy, as a non-permanent member, at the UN Security Council meeting.
The Undersecretary of State attended the public session of the Security Council, which approved a resolution on non-proliferation and the implementation of sanctions in North Korea. During the meeting, the Security Council decided to extend by a year the mandate of the Panel of Experts, an auxiliary body of the North Korea Sanctions Committee (Committee 1718), which Italy has chaired since January 2017.
Subsequently, also in the Security Council, the Italian government representative intervened during the adoption of a resolution on renewing the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). The ministerial briefing was chaired by British Secretary of State Boris Johnson. The meeting was also attended through video conference by the President of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, and the outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs in Modagishu, Abdusalam Omer, who was present in the room.
During the morning, Mr Amendola also held a bilateral meeting with the Somali Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdusalam Omer. Their meeting centred on national security in Somalia, political tensions in the country, Islamic terrorism, internal security, the drought and the severe humanitarian crisis.
While expressing his desire for the consolidation of Somali institutions and the start of a real process of stabilisation for the country, Mr Amendola highlighted Italy’s front line role in the country “as shown by the fact that we are one of the few to have an Ambassador in Mogadishu. Somalia is traditionally a priority country for Italian Cooperation. Our commitment,” explained Mr Amendola, “is focused on strengthening institutional capabilities and improving the living conditions for the population through programmes in the health, food security and economic development sectors”.
In the afternoon, the Undersecretary will be attending a public session of the Security Council on South Sudan.
The mission will continue tomorrow with further meetings at the United Nations, including a public session of the Security Council. A Franco-Italian initiative will be presented for a Security Council Resolution on the protection of cultural heritage against destruction and illegal trafficking in conflict situations.
