PACIFIC: Italy to give $US12m for health & climate change
Updated
The Italian government is offering Pacific nations direct development funding for the first time. The new funding of 12-million dollars US over three years is separate from the money it gives to the region through the European Union. It will be used to tackle health and climate change issues. The Italian government has also pledged to host meetings at the Pacific Islands Forum summit later this year to deepen relations.
Presenter: Adam Connors
Speakers: Stefano Starace, Italian Ambassador to Australia and the Pacific
STARACE: Just to give an idea of what moves up, what interest moves us. I would say they're very, very simple. Traditionally, Italy has a strong presence in Australia and I would say equally intense presence in New Zealand and a very intense relationship, trade and communities most of all, cultural and so forth. Whereas we had a kind of until recently only a very occasional fleeting contacts with the political and economic realities of the Pacific Island countries, so we decided to intensify our relations, which means intensifying our presence as well.
And so we started both in let's say the political arena and the dialogue, but of course we know that this goes hand in hand with the availability to provide assistance and cooperation to these countries, many of which are in need of foreign inputs and we have started with small individual country programs in the health field and then we have a regional program and that involves climate control and renewable sources of energy. Because we have identified these area wit the countries interested and as a priority in their prospectus for development. So I would say we are at the start of a process that we plan to intensify as time go on.
CONNORS: What can Italy contribute towards building these economies?
STARACE: We haven't broached as yet the area of infrastructre. We certainly have to broached the issue of communications, road building and I see difficulty in doing that, even the distance and the fact we have no companies that are projected this far away from Italy.
CONNORS: I suppose I may be concentrating here on the fisheries industry after large slashes in the Mediterranean catch. Is there any direct link there between Italy and the Pacific Island?
STARACE: Not that I'm aware of. I know there are some European fishing fleets active in the Pacific, but certainly not the Italians. And I would be surprised if Italians who were sell them fish outside of the Mediterranean. We do not have an ocean going fleet and I doubt we would come this far away.
CONNORS: Would Italy though encourage the thought of helping Pacific Islands develop their fisheries to the extent where it could sell to?
STARACE: Yes, this is a traditional area in which we are helpful usually when we cooperate with French and South African countries, Africa being closer to us. We have a more intense programs of cooperation with many African countries. But of course this depends on requests coming from the interested parties in which case the Pacific Island countries.
This is part of the let's say the mechanics of all systems. The government makes an engagement and then of course they call in let's say expertise and suppliers from the private sector. But this is true for all corporation produce by any other country.
