This afternoon, the Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio participated in the informal high-level meeting of the Security Council of the United Nations, organised by the Estonian Presidency to mark the 75th Anniversary of the End of Word War II in Europe.
The victory over nazi-fascism was achieved thanks to a collective effort grounded on the values of peace, freedom and international cooperation, which values later also inspired the founding fathers of the United Nations Organisation and the European Union and which still guide the actions of these organisations today. Minister Di Maio reconfirmed Italy’s strong and constant commitment to effective multilateralism, with the UN at its core, which remains an essential instrument against the threats faced by Europe and the entire world, which are often of an unconventional and transnational nature.
Minister Di Maio emphasised how staunch support for these principles continues to inspire our actions in the principal international fora, with regard to issues such as maintaining peace, protecting human rights and ensuring the rule of law. It is with this aim in view that Italy has immediately expressed its support for the Appeal for Global Ceasefire spearheaded by the UN Secretary-General Guterres.
Italy is aware that health is a prerequisite for ensuring the peace, safety and prosperity of populations across the world and is therefore consistently at the forefront of driving forward a global response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Minister Di Maio remembered the “Coronavirus Global Response Pledging Conference” initiative, recently sponsored by Italy, in partnership with the European Union and other States, which collected 7.4 billion euros, within a short space of time, to finance the development of a vaccine, as well as diagnostics and treatments, against the Coronavirus globally.
