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Tajani meets Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees: immediate response to the refugee crisis in Lebanon and Syria, commitment from the G7 in Pescara to coordinate aid to the region

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, today met with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, to be updated on the UNHCR’s (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) intervention strategies regarding the crisis in the Middle East.

“The Italian government supports the activities of the UNHCR; Italy is one of the agency’s most committed donors. We will certainly work together to immediately address the worsening crisis in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza. To this end, we have decided to involve the UNHCR in the meeting of the Development Ministers in Pescara from 22-24 October, planning to open it with a humanitarian conference for the Middle East. I also discussed this yesterday with my colleagues from the Quintet, who agreed on the importance of strengthening humanitarian coordination for the civilian populations in Lebanon and Gaza,” the Minister added.

Minister Tajani received information from High Commissioner Grandi regarding the evolution of the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon and the numerous returns to Syria. “The UNHCR is one of the key partners in Italy’s migration strategy, particularly in addressing the issue of forced migrations,” the Minister noted. Thanks to resources from the Migration Fund and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation’s Fund to reward cooperation in the field of readmissions, over EUR 126 million has been allocated to the High Commissioner since 2017 to develop projects in the main countries of origin and transit of migratory flows, especially in the regions prioritised by Italy’s migration policy, namely North Africa and the Sahel.

The High Commissioner confirmed to the Italian government the operational support for the implementation of the Protocol with Albania, indicating that this is an interesting model that other countries could also emulate.

The UNHCR is also an important partner in the area of development cooperation: in 2024, EUR 8 million has already been allocated to the budget, and EUR 4 million has recently been approved for initiatives in Niger and Jordan. Additionally, just a few days ago, EUR 3 million was approved for humanitarian interventions in Lebanon.

 

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