In order to promote dialogue on the regional situation in the Sahel, exchange relevant information and contacts and analyse the ongoing projects, Italy’s Ambassador in Dakar, Giovanni Umberto De Vito, has summoned over 50 Italian officials working at the Dakar-based offices of the United Nations and of other international organisations.
The meeting – which addressed, among other things, food security, environmental sustainability, agriculture, regional security, countering illegal trafficking and human trafficking – was also attended by Francesco Rocca, President of the Italian Red Cross and of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, who is currently visiting Senegal. The event was opened by Ambassador De Vito, who highlighted Italy’s commitment in favour of multilateralism and expressed his appreciation of the qualified contribution provided by Italian officials through their services in diversified and highly relevant fields, such as humanitarian aid, human rights, migration and development in Western African states and in Sahel countries.
Elvira Pruscini, Deputy Regional Director for Central and Western Africa for the World Food Programme (WFP) and Cristina Iampieri, coordinator of the Sahel programme at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) also took the floor. The meeting was also an opportunity to promote Rome’s bid for hosting EXPO 2030 and Rome-Florence-Assisi’s bid for hosting the next World Water Forum in 2024 (Dakar will be hosting this year’s edition).
