Italian foreign minister, Franco Frattini, opened today the International Contact Group (ICG) on Somalia held in Rome.
in his speech he stressed the role of Italy in helping the East African country and other countries in Africa and the importance of tackling the roots of the allarming phenomenon of piracy.
“From our point of view – Frattini said – there are grounds for cautious optimism, notwithstanding the recent outbursts of violence, which some observers believe are a reaction – by those who oppose the peace process – to the recent positive developments on Somalia”.
Since the end of January, Mogadishu has been ruled by a Government open to the opposition forces and to all those who have rejected violence and terrorism. Furthermore, the International Community has decided to pledge more financial resources than initially sought for AMISOM during the recent Conference in Brussels, thereby demonstrating a renewed focus on the crisis”.
“Somalia is a top priority for our Cooperation for development“, he added.
“In the past three years, we have disbursed over 30 million EURO in development aid, notwithstanding the constraints posed by the deterioration of the security situation. We have very recently delivered emergency humanitarian aid worth 600 thousand dollars, which has been distributed under the responsibility of the Transitional Government”.
Here you can download the entire speech
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