Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Emanuela Del Re, met Italian NGOs operating in Libya today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The meeting gave her an opportunity to exchange views and listen to the NGO’s assessments of what they were doing and the operational difficulties encountered.
The Deputy Minister emphasised that “Italy’s absolute priority is to move beyond the long transition stage in Libya, firmly supporting the efforts and plan of action of Special Representative of the UN, Ghassan Salamé. The Special Representative is in Rome today for meetings with Prime Minister Conte, who is personally following the Libyan situation”.
Del Re then expressed her appreciation for the work carried out by the Italian NGOs, who operate with professional expertise and humanity to support migrant centres and the most vulnerable.
She noted the commitment of the Italian Cooperation Service in Libya, which significantly increased in 2018, and whose focus has been on creating capacity and development and humanitarian aid projects for the most vulnerable categories. This was in addition to the additional Fund for Africa funding which amounted to 46.7 million euros for Libya in 2017 and 2018. Del Re also referred to the actions taken by Italy to tackle the illicit trafficking of human beings in association with Libya and UN agencies.
