This morning, the Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, took part in the launch of the Ukraine Reconstruction Workshop in Milan, together with the Italian Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano.
The Workshop, which is promoted by Triennale Milano and MAXXI in cooperation with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Ministry of Culture, is intended to set up a European hub for reconstructing Ukraine in a sustainable and innovative manner, with a particular focus on social infrastructures such as schools and cultural institutions, through the involvement of cultural institutions, companies, creative people and designers.
The event, which was opened by Stefano Boeri, President of Triennale Milano, and Alessandro Giuli, President of Fondazione MAXXI, was attended by Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani, Italian Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano and their Ukrainian counterparts in video link-up, Dmytro Kuleba and Rostyslav Karandieiev.
“Italy wants to be at the forefront of Ukraine’s reconstruction. After last April’s conference – in which we brought more than a thousand companies to Rome to discuss the reconstruction of the country in a modern, green and digital key – we are now laying another building block for the reconstruction of the country, which will also be central during the Italian G7 Presidency in 2024 and which lays the foundations for the Ukraine Recovery Conference that we will also host in Italy in 2025. Within this complex process, the role of private companies and Italian SMEs is crucial, putting the extraordinary architectural skills and Italian know-how in the protection and restoration of cultural heritage at the service of the reconstruction and transformation of Ukrainian cities”.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Italy has been working to protect Odessa’s rich historical and cultural heritage, promoting the inclusion of the historic centre of Odessa in the UNESCO World Heritage List and thus in the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger. In this context, on the occasion of Minister Tajani’s visit to Kiev on 2 October, Italy took on the patronage of the reconstruction of Odessa, also in view of our country’s historical ties with the city, the active twinning with Genoa and Venice, and the economic importance of the Black Sea port and the hinterland, with its strong agricultural vocation.
