Government, AAA Deputy minister wanted to relaunch international cooperation

ROME – A little more than a year and a half has passed since the last full ministers – we read on Info-Cooperation, the online point of reference for the Italian community of humanitarian workers – the one that led Luigi di Maio to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation at the beginning of 2021. In the role of deputy minister, with responsibility for Cooperation in the end it was Marina Sereni, who will replace Emanuela del Re. Together with her, in the role of undersecretaries, Manlio di Stefano and Benedetto Della Vedova were appointed.

The political scenario that has changed. We are today in the same phase but facing a much changed political scenario following the electoral outcome of last September 25th. For the appointments of the undersecretaries a lightning rush is expected, the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced that she wants to close within a week. In the world of parties, the only one to come out of the closet was Silvio Berlusconi who publicly proposed Valentino Valentini (FI) for a role at the Farnesina. But inevitably his candidacy is weakened by the fact that Forza Italia already holds the foreign leadership with its national coordinator. Valentini, a former non-re-elected deputy and Berlusconi’s special advisor for foreign relations during the years of Palazzo Chigi, could be a problematic profile for his ties with Russia, of which he was a liaison officer on behalf of Forza Italia. On the other hand, the path of Edmondo Cirielli (FdI) is more certain, who, according to journalistic advances, would be Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, with a delegation linked to Made in Italy and to Commerce to foreign countries.

A technical profile that knows the sector. In the meantime, the world of civil society is pressing for the appointment of a deputy minister who brings to the Farnesina the skills, knowledge and skills acquired directly in the field in the context of Development Cooperation and Third sector. A technical candidacy that can contribute to the relaunch of the Italian Cooperation also following the very high expectations that emerged from the last edition of Cooperation – National Cooperation Conference held in Rome at the end of last June. “In Italy today – says the spokeswoman forAssociation of Italian NGOs, AOISilvia Stilli – there is a need, in the policy for international cooperation, to identify a figure who knows how to add to the theoretical knowledge the competence, given by working directly in contexts, and who knows gaps and potentialities of Law 125/2014: a more technical than political profile, therefore, that it is possible to trace among my colleagues engaged daily in the work of NGOs “

Among the names that circulate is that of Roberto Ridolfi. His profile seemed suitable for many as an expert in development finance and public-private partnerships. Over the course of many years he held important positions at the European Commission between 1994 and 2019, before moving to FAO as Deputy Director General. More recently he has entered the world of NGOs with the appointment as President of Link 2007. For his part, Nino Sergi, considered somewhat the dean in the world of Cooperation, on an article published by the magazine Life affirms that “in the world of non-governmental cooperation (….) there are skills, knowledge, skills gained in years of work and in high-profile institutional experiences, not only in Italy and in developing countries but also in decision-making roles in Europe and within the United Nations, which it would be a pity not to take into consideration in the evaluation that will be made ”.

The name of Giampaolo Silvestri also emerges. A name on which attention has been focused is also that of Giampaolo Silvestri, general secretary of Avsian important Italian NGO that just tomorrow celebrates its 50th anniversary at the MAXXI in Rome with an important event entitled “Beyond development, the future we want”, In which the new Foreign Minister should also participate. Silvestri is also a member of the National Council for Development Cooperation where he coordinates the working group on the private profit sector.