Yesterday, the Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Edmondo Cirielli, chaired the second meeting of the 2024 Joint Development Cooperation Committee, which launched a package of interventions worth almost EUR 390 million.
As a follow-up to the Italy-Africa Conference, initiatives were approved on the African continent in the areas of strengthening health services, vocational training and education, female entrepreneurship, disaster risk reduction, food security, economic development and employment. Highlights include an initiative for the structural transformation of the coffee value chain in East Africa with UNIDO and the Global Green Bond Initiative (GGBI) credit programme with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti S.p.A.
Development cooperation initiatives were approved in the rest of the world for the promotion of biodiversity, the protection and management of cultural heritage, the fight against climate change, the fight against corruption and organised crime, the rights of religious minorities, and education, including an aid credit for Jordan to improve water systems.
In the multilateral sphere, the fourth instalment of the contribution to the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI) was approved in order to promote the production of vaccines in Africa and to stimulate the continent’s sovereignty and independence in health matters, while Italy’s commitment to support the JPO Programme and UN Fellowship Programme implemented by UNDESA and the food security conducted by FAO and CIHEAM/IAMB was confirmed.