Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Emanuela Del Re, participated in the 12th the virtual meeting, at ministerial level, on the epidemiological emergency response to COVID-19. The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, Francois-Philippe Champagne. The meeting allowed an exchange of views and good practices for the global response and common strategies in the current pandemic situation.
In her speech, Del Re described the current dynamics of the contagion in Italy – in constant, albeit slow descent – and the careful and prudential approach of the measures adopted by our Government to fight the virus. The Vice Minister stressed that the response to this second wave is also characterized by the precautionary principle and aims to preserve citizens’ health while supporting the national economy. Del Re then reminded that, given the coming festivities, there is a need for a further effort to keep the situation under control and avoid the third wave of contagion and referred to Italy’s measures with the Decree of 3 December.
Finally, the Vice Minister recalled how Italy was among the first and most active countries to promote and establish multilateral mechanisms of global coordination for the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She recalled Italy’s efforts, in various multilateral fora, to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on food security. She also mentioned the launch of the “Food Coalition” on Italy’s proposal within the FAO, “to prevent the pandemic crisis from turning into a food supply chains crisis”.
“I believe there is a light at the end of every tunnel, but the tunnel must be crossed to the end, and we have to do so by showing courage, ambition and determination. Meetings like this contribute to strengthening this approach” – concluded Del Re.
