Maputo. Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Paolo Gentiloni has presided over the Joint Committee for Development Cooperation at the Ministry’s Farnesina headquarters. The Committee has modified its spending for 2016, for a total of 448 million euro, of which approximately 213 for the multilateral channel, 120 for bilateral, and 113 for emergency relief. The main recipients of the voluntary contributions in the multilateral channel are the Global Fund against AIDS, TBC and Malaria for 40 million, and the UNHCR for 9, representing a roughly nine-fold increase over last year. Among others, two specific initiatives have been approved: one for General Budget Support for the Mozambican state, and the other for integrated rural development in Tunisia, for a total value of more than 20 million euro. “With these deliberations,” stated the Minister, “we are seeing the Joint Committee in the substance of its work, which is one the pillars of the Italian Cooperation’s new governance.” He continued: “This is our concrete response to the will of the government to re-launch the strategic role of Development Cooperation, through a gradual but consistent increase in funds in the coming years.” (9colonne)
