Manlio Di Stefano, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, has spoken at the conference “Italy as a Maritime Country: Challenges and Opportunities”, held today at the Livorno Naval Academy in the presence of authoritative speakers from the institutional, defence, academic and business sectors.
Organised by the Italian Navy, in collaboration with Limes, the conference has explored the export propensity of Italy’s shipbuilding industry and maritime geopolitics, with a focus on Italy’s strategic projection onto the Mediterranean.
Deputy Minister Di Stefano, who has set up the Interdepartmental Steering Committee on Maritime Geopolitics at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has said: “The central role played by Italy’s maritime sector is testified not only by the remarkable 2.2% of GDP it generates, but also by Italy’s particular location and geopolitical projection. Italy is working towards ensuring that the Mediterranean becomes a multilateral platform for dialogue, prosperity, economic opportunity, and ecological transition, by placing the blue economy and cooperation at the heart of its strategy”.
“The government,” Di Stefano has continued, “is fully committed to promoting Italy’s national interests by thoroughly working to update relations with the countries of the broader Mediterranean basin (beginning by delimitating maritime borders), but also by viewing the limited maritime resources as “common goods” to be used in a sustainable manner and protected with the common commitment of all coastal countries, a real paradigm shift that will be necessary for the years to come.”
