Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, will be in New York from 17 to 20 September to take part in the High-Level Week of the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The focus of the mission will be the issue of migration, which the Deputy Prime Minister will discuss at various UN events and during numerous bilateral meetings with his counterparts and with the heads of international organisations with jurisdiction over the subject. Ample space will then be devoted to Africa, a priority for Italian foreign policy, and to the Western Balkans, a region where Italy is playing an increasingly prominent role with regard to integration into the European Union.
On Monday 18 September, Tajani will lead the Italian delegation at the UN Headquarters, speaking at the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Summit, an important opportunity for the main international leaders to discuss how to accelerate the implementation of the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development by 2030.
On the same day, the Deputy Prime Minister will chair a working meeting with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. Also on Monday, a meeting will take place with the counterparts from Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia to discuss the Horn of Africa’s socio-economic problems and the effects on the migration dossier and possible regional cooperation.
On Tuesday 19 September, alongside the Italian Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister will attend the opening of the General Debate.
Among the other main events on the agenda, Tajani will chair the ministerial meeting of the “Uniting for Consensus” group — in which Italy has played the role of coordinator since the group’s creation — on the UN Security Council reform process.
As part of the events on the margins of the General Debate organised by Italy, the Deputy Prime Minister will coordinate the work of a meeting devoted to education as a key factor for development and for ensuring a future for children in crisis contexts. In addition, together with Japan, the United Arab Emirates and the UN, he will chair an event dedicated to food systems and climate which, in addition to confirming Italy’s leading role on food security, is in continuity with the Rome Food Systems Summit last July.
During the high-level week, Tajani will also attend the traditional meetings of EU and G7 Ministers of Foreign Affairs and will meet with the main Jewish associations.
During his mission to New York, the Deputy Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Farnesina Collection exhibition at the Consulate General and the Italian Cultural Institute, and will have meetings with leading representatives of the American business and financial world to whom he will illustrate the renewed strategy of growth diplomacy promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and investment opportunities in Italy.
