The four-day visit to Ehiopia and Eritrea by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Edmondo Cirielli, has concluded.
In Addis Ababa, Deputy Minister Cirielli was part of Prime Minister Meloni’s delegation to the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS +4), co-organised by Italy and Ethiopia, where he was the keynote speaker at the panel presenting the UN report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World.
Cirielli took part in talks with the Ethiopian authorities of the Prime Minister, signing the new Joint Declaration between Italy and Ethiopia on the Development Cooperation Plan for the three-year period 2026-2028, which provides for an Italian financial commitment of €250 million, of which €210 million is in the form of aid credits and €40 million is in the form of grants. In Addis Ababa, the Deputy Minister also held a bilateral meeting with his Ethiopian counterpart, Minister of State Hadera Abera Admassu.
Deputy Minister Cirielli then travelled to Eritrea with Minister Lollobrigida.
In Asmara, the Italian delegation was received by President Isaias Afewerki, Councillor for Economic Affairs Hagos Gebrehiwet, Minister of Commerce Nesredin Bekit and Minister of Foreign Affairs Osman Sahel. During the visit, which also included a stop in the coastal city of Massawa to meet with Minister of Marine Resources Arefaine Berhe, Deputy Minister Cirielli signed a Bilateral Cooperation Action Plan between Italy and Eritrea that lays the groundwork for a gradual revival of relations between the two countries.
