Today at the Farnesina, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Emanuela Del Re, spoke at the presentation of the EU 68-million-euro cross-border “ENI CBC MED“ programme which aims to finance development projects in the Mediterranean Basin for the transfer of technology and innovation, social inclusion and climate change involving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The Deputy Minister said: “Our presence here testifies to the centrality of the Mediterranean for Italy’s foreign policy and especially for Italy’s development cooperation. She went on: “Multilateralism and working together is in Italy’s genetic code. By virtue of its multilateral nature, this programme offers a forum of dialogue between the two shores of the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean, considered to be an external border by the European Union, is for us the centre and not the periphery. And it is upon this centre that Italian foreign policy focuses special attention.”
Italy plays a leading role in the programme thanks to its geographical location and the assignment of the Programme to the Autonomous Region of Sardinia. The Deputy Minister concluded by underscoring that the ENI CBC MED Programme 2014-2020 is an example of the positive role played by Italian regions in a priority area of Italian foreign policy through concrete initiatives and programmes, and thanked the Sardinian Region for the work it has carried out since 2007 as the Authority in charge of managing the programme.
