Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs and delegated for the Pacific area, Giorgio Silli, took part in the 52nd Pacific Islands Forum Summit in Cook Islands. The regional organisation, which includes Australia and New Zealand, has reunited all Pacific small island states since 1971. “My presence here today confirms the attention that Italy, as a Forum Dialogue Partner since 2007, has long given to the small islands of the Pacific Ocean and their extreme vulnerability to climate change”, stated the Undersecretary.
The Summit, titled “Our Voices, Our Choices, Our Pacific Way”, focused on the practical implementation of the “2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent”, designed in 2019 by the Pacific States to address seven priorities: regional political unity, people’s wellbeing, peace and security, economic development and use of resources, climate change, ocean health, intra-regional and global connectivity.
“The actions undertaken by Italy in this region perfectly align with the Forum’s needs. Over the years, we have supported tackling climate change, implementing sustainable management of natural resources, preventing natural disasters and protecting local populations’ rights and cultural heritage. Italy has a rooted experience in these challenges and wants to keep contributing to their resolution”, said the Undersecretary.
As the second Italian representative who took part in the Summit, Undersecretary Silli met with his peers from Fiji, Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, East Timor and New Zealand and explained to them the strong synergies underlying Rome’s candidature to host the 2030 Universal EXPO: “Sustainability and territorial regeneration are the main focuses of the Rome EXPO 2030 project. Such topics unite our Countries and overcome geographical distances. I have listed to my colleagues all the opportunities for collaboration and the benefits for the Pacific Countries that will emerge from the Rome Expo”, concluded the Undersecretary.
