Today on the sidelines of the seventh edition of the Rome Med Dialogues, Luigi Di Maio, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, met Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak, Minister for Foreign and Expatriates Affairs of the Republic of Yemen.
At the centre of their discussion was the situation in Yemen, which continues to cause deep concern due to the very serious humanitarian repercussions caused by a conflict that has lasted for almost 7 years.
Minister Di Maio reiterated Italy’s firm support for the United Nations effort to seek a political-diplomatic solution, in awareness that this is the only lasting way out of the conflict.
Di Maio therefore encouraged the Yemeni government to continue on the path of consolidating internal administrative action, and sensitised his counterpart on the need to support the mediation efforts of the UN Special Envoy, Ambassador Hans Grundberg, and to favour the widest possible involvement of the various Yemeni authorities in the negotiation process. Moreover, in light of the regional dynamics that are involved in the crisis, he recalled Italy’s engagement with all the state actors in the area, to encourage their serious and genuine commitment to peace.
At the bilateral level, Bin Mubarak expressed his appreciation for the Italian contribution in terms of humanitarian aid, and for Italy’s donation of Covid-19 vaccines via the Covax Facility channel. Finally, the possibility was mentioned of developing cooperation in the field of cultural heritage protection, beginning with a training programme for Yemeni government officials on combating the illegal trafficking of archaeological assets.
