Governo Italiano
NEW YORK (June 26, 2023) - MASE's technical-institutional mission starts on Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28, in New York, at the headquarters of the Permanent Representation of Italy to the United Nations, which includes meetings of the Joint Committees, (JC), with the Pacific Small Island Developing States, (PSIDS), and, subsequently, with the countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
The collaboration of MASE with the area of the Pacific Small Island Developing States has been active since May 2007, the year in which the first Memorandum of Understanding was signed in New York. (https://www.mase.gov.it/pagina/pacific-small-island-states).
Today, 18 partners participate in the program, including 4 donors, (Italy, Austria, Luxembourg and Spain), and 14 beneficiaries, (Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Solomon Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu). More than 45 projects have been approved, since 2007, for a total budget of over 20 million dollars.
The JC, scheduled for Tuesday June 27 in New York, is therefore a new and important opportunity to strengthen the collaboration with the Pacific Small Island Developing States, to restart an ongoing dialogue by resuming the custom of annual meetings, and to highlight the current environmental priorities of the Small Islands towards a sustainable blue economy, promoting effective strategies for the management, protection and conservation of coastal ecosystems and responsible use of marine resources.
The first meeting of the Joint Committee is scheduled for Wednesday June 28, always in New York, as part of the new Agreement on Sustainable Development signed between MASE and 9 CARICOM countries, (https://www.mase.gov.it/pagina/caricom-countries): Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Haiti).
As part of the previous MoU, 20 projects were approved for a total amount exceeding 16 million dollars, mainly on the issues of promoting renewable energies and energy efficiency, prevention and early warning systems for extreme natural events, strengthening integrated water systems and water desalination.
Future projects and activities will focus on mitigation and adaptation measures.
These meeting of these days will see the adoption of the Agenda and the approval of the framework documents Rules of Procedure of the Joint Committee and the Bilateral Committees, (RoP), and Guiding Principles for the Cooperation Mechanism, (GP), as well as bilateral technical tables for a comparison on starting future activities.
