Meeting of the Minister Fabio Cassese with IOM and UNHCR to discuss migration
Important for its meaning and full of appointments was the visit in Sudan of Min. Plen. Fabio Cassese, Deputy D.G. for Program and Implementation of Cooperation, in the past days. The mission, mainly focused on migration issues, has also looked at an analysis on other new spaces on Cooperation that Sudan can offer to Italian Cooperation, which has been working in the African Countries since many years.
By the sign of Khartoum Process, in the past november, between the representative of the European Union State’s Members (destination countries of migration flows), the Horn of Africa countries (source of the migration flows) and South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisa, Kenya and Egypt (the crossing countries) a collaboration to mitigate to stop and control human trafficking has started. The agreement wants also to work on factors that cause migration, paying attention and concern to the most vulnerable groups and asylum seekers.
Sudan is a strategic partner to work on initiatives that can help in building structural policies and an effective dialogue to manage the phenomenon of migration, between the Countries that in Rome launched the Khartoum process.
Institutional meetings – The issue of migration comes to join other topics supported by Italian Cooperation. Minister Cassese, together with the Italian Ambassador Fabrizio Lobasso and the Director of the Italian Cooperation office in Sudan, Alberto Bortolan, has conducted, in the same day of his arrival, a meeting with each of the Ministers of International Cooperation, the Minister of Health and Minister of Agriculture. Those were moments of intense exchange of information and satisfaction for Italy, in all meetings the Sudanese partners expressed their honor and gratification on the work done by Italy in Sudan.
Italian Cooperation carries on in the Country integrated initiatives in a synergistic way in health and agriculture sectors in the Eastern States of Sudan. The meetings were also useful for the next agenda on the activities of cooperation also concerning an increasing involvement of the African Country to the Khartoum process.
The presence of the Italian Cooperation office in Sudan can play a strategic key role in the development of cooperation projects aimed to promote resilience, socioeconomic development and governance in the crossing countries. The Minister also met the representatives of different United Nations organizations, FAO, UNICEF, UNOPS, UNHCR and IOM, longstanding partner of the IC. The one with IOM and UNHCR was particularly important. The migration issue, in this historical moment, calls the attention of a large number of countries and international organizations, because of its wide sociopolitical involvement that originates. So it becames essential the need for a discussion together, to get to a deep knowledge and to analyze a joint possible action on different sides.
Minister Cassese with the staff of the Italian Cooperation in Khartoum
The meeting with Italian Cooperation staff – “People are the one who makes cooperation possible”. Saying this words how Deputy Director General of the Italian Cooperation started the meeting with the Italian Cooperation staff in Khartoum. Minister Cassese, before that, had greet the Sudanese staff working in the office expressing his deep gratitude and appreciation about the important daily work they do. During the meeting, Cassese explained the reasons of the visit, then he let a question & answers moment to the staff from all departments. The next structural change in a “Development Cooperation Agency”, scheduled at the beginning of the new year, will open a sensitive transition phase. The wish is to work at the best for this occasion and also that the Agency will be an effective and quick tool to perform tasks, whether in the planning or execution. The Minister sealed the meeting with words of appreciation for the work done by each member of the IC staff so far, and has once again greet all the staff personally for the excellent work done by the Italian Cooperation office.
After, he held a meeting with the Italian Non Govermental Organizations present in Sudan: Emergency, COSV, OVCI and INTERSOS. The dialogue was effective and the call by the Minister Cassese has been renewed to increase the contribution as part of a joint strategy between the different parties working in the country.
The Deputy D.G. Cassese shaking hands with the Commissioner of Haya locality during the visit to the sorghum fields
A visit to the Red Sea State – Deputy Director General for Italian Development Cooperation, Fabio Cassese, accompanied by Dr. Valeria Romare, Deputy Head of Mission, and Alberto Bortolan, Director of Italian Development Cooperation office in Sudan, went for a visit in the Red Sea State, where part of the Italian Cooperation activities are implemented. Concerning agriculture, the Minister visited Haya locality where the first sorghum sprouts came out under the Poverty Alleviation Project – PAP – by Italian Cooperation. In Haya, the Minister visited Tulugreeb school, which has been built with funding from Italian Government and today return to be part of Poverty Alleviation Project through specific activities which include the provision of drinking water and a training course on agriculture for students of the eighth grade, the last grade in the primary phase. Concerning health, the delegation visited Al Tagadom Hospital in Port Sudan, a hospital and Health Center in Arkaweet and Midwives school in Swakin, all the facilities are under the EU delegated cooperation program (PQHS – IHSVP), in addition to the ones directly managed by Italian Cooperation.
Warm welcome from the students of Tuligrieb school to the Italian Delegation
Warm and sincere was the welcome by Sudanese people in the targeted areas, which recognizes to Italy a surplus value for being present in areas where there is a lack of services and facilities, where also the Government faces difficulties in covering the needs there.
Likewise his meetings with the main beneficiaries of the Italian Cooperation activities, the Minister has also made a number of meetings with the authorities and representatives of local government, to discuss the potential possibilities for new initiatives, to build on the basic and urgent needs of the population of the Red Sea state.
In all the occasions, a sincere appreciation and gratitude for the work done by the Italian Cooperation has been expressed to Minister Cassese, which confirms the strong and well-established friendship between Italy and Sudan and appreciation, which makes stronger the Italian Cooperation team.