Memorandum dac peer review

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Rome, Italy
DAC Peer Review 2009
Memorandum
March 2009
Table of contents
1 Dipco speciale, supplemento al n. 23/2009
Executive Summary
1. Chapter 1 – Strategic orientation
1.1. General orientations
1.2. The Italian Cooperation System (IC)
1.3. The legal foundations
1.4. Sector priorities
1.4.1. Agriculture and food security
1.4.2. Environment, management of natural resources
1.4.3. Health
1.4.4. Education
1.4.5. Governance and civil society (ICT and e-government)
1.4.6. Support to small and medium enterprises
1.4.7. Gender and women empowerment
1.4.8. Protection and enhancement of cultural heritage
1.4.9. Other cross-cutting issues
1.5. Geographic priorities
1.5.1. Sub-Saharan Africa
1.5.2. Balkans, Mediterranean and Middle East countries
1.5.3. Latin America, Caribbean, Asia and Pacific
1.6. Communication to the Parliament and to the wider public
2. Chapter 2 – Policy coherence
2.2. Coordination and dialogue mechanisms
2.3. Policy coherence themes
3. Chapter 3 – ODA volume, channels and allocations
3.1. Overall ODA volume
3.2. Bilateral Channel
3.3. Multilateral channel
4. Chapter 4 – Organization and management
4.2. Organization
4.2.1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs: DGCS, UTC and the UTLs
4.2.2. The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF)
4.2.3. The Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea (IMELS)
4.2.4. Other relevant ministries involved
4.2.5. The Italian Department of Civil Protection
4.2.6. NGOs
4.2.7. Decentralized cooperation
4.3. Management
4.3.1. Coordination
4.3.2. Budgeting procedures and human resources
4.4. Monitoring and evaluation
5. Chapter 5 – Aid Effectiveness
5.2. Ownership
5.3. Alignment
5.4. Harmonisation
6. Chapter 6 – Special issues
6.1. Capacity development
6.1.1. General orientations
6.1.2. Capacity development priority areas
6.2. Agriculture, high food prices and donor response
6.2.1. General orientations
6.2.2. The Italian action in the field of agricultural development
7. Chapter 7 – Humanitarian Assistance
7.2. Financial mechanisms
7.3. Managing humanitarian action
7.4. Cross-cutting issues
Annex 1: ODA by region
Annex 2: Progress against 2004 OECD/DAC Peer Review Recommendations
Annex 3: Italian Cooperation “2009-2011 Programming Guidelines and Directions” (*)
(*) Annex 3 is not included here since it has already been published in the special supplement to Dipco n. 13 of 9 April 2009.

LIST OF ACRONYMS
AAA Accra Agenda for Action
ACP African Caribbean Pacific
AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
AMC Advanced Market Commitments
CAP Consolidated Appeals Process
CD Capacity Development
CERF Central Emergency Response Fund
CGIAR Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research
CHAPs Common Humanitarian Action Plans
CSO Civil Society Organisation
DAC Development Assistance Committee
DC Document Centre
DGCS Directorate General for Development
Cooperation (Direzione Generale per la
Cooperazione allo Sviluppo)
DG Director General
DoL Division of Labour
DPC Department of Civil Protection
(Dipartimento della Protezione Civile)
EC European Commission
ECHO European Commission Humanitarian Aid
Office
EDF European Development Fund
EFA Education for All
EIB European Investment Bank
EU European Union
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization
FDI Foreign Direct Investment
FTI Fast Track Initiative
FYROM Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia
GAVI Global Alliance Vaccine Initiative
GBS General Budget Support
GBV Gender Based Violence
GFATM Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis
and Malaria
GNI Gross National Income
GOVNET OECD/DAC’s Governance Network
GPAFSN Global Partnership for Agriculture, Food
Security and Nutrition
HIPC Highly Indebted Poor Countries
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
HQ Headquarters
IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development
IC Italian Cooperation
ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross
ICT Information and Communication
Technology
IDA International Development Association
IFAD International Fund for Agricultural
Development
IFC International Finance Organization
IFF-Im International Finance Facility for
Immunization
IFIs International Financial Institutions
IFRC International Federation of Red Cross and
Red Crescent Societies
IFRD International Financial Relations Directorate
of the Treasury Department
ILO International Labour Organization
IIOO International Organizations
IMELS Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea
IOM International Organization for Migration
IUCN International Union for the Conservation of
Nature
Dipco speciale, supplemento al n. 23/2009 2
GNP Gross National Product
LDCs Least Developed Countries
MAFFP Ministry for Agriculture Food and Forestry
Policies
MDBs Multilateral Development Banks
MDGs Millennium Development Goals
M&E Monitoring and Evaluation
MEF Ministry of Economy and Finance
MFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs
MIGA Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
MLHW-HS Ministry of Labour Health and Welfare –
Health Sector
MSME Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
ODA Official Development Assistance
OECD/DAC Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development/Development Assistance
Committee
PCD Policy Coherence for Development
PIU Project Implementation Unit
PR Peer Review
PRT Provisional Reconstruction Team
SME Small and Medium Enterprise
TA Technical Assistance
UN United Nations
UNCCD United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification
UNDAC United Nations Disaster Assessment
Coordination
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and
Cultural Organization
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change
UNFF United Nations Forum on Forests
UNFPA United Nations Population Fund
UNHCR Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees
UNHRD United Nations Humanitarian Response
Depot
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund
UNICRI United Nations Interregional Crime and
Justice Research
UNIDO/IPO United Nations Industrial Development
Organization/Industrial Promotion Office
UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for
Women
UNIFIL United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
UNITAR United Nations Institute for Training and
Research
UN-OCHA United Nations Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs
UNOPS United Nations Organization for Project
Service
UNRWA United Nations Relief and Works Agency
for Palestine Refugees
UN/SC United Nations Security Council
UTC Central Technical Unit (Unità Tecnica
Centrale)
UTL Local Technical Unit (Unità Tecnica Locale)
WB World Bank
WFP World Food Programme
WGAE Working Group on Aid Effectiveness
WHO World Health Organisation
WTO World Trade Organization

Executive Summary
General orientations and organization
Italy is firmly committed to continue mobilizing, with a renewed dynamism, its cooperation system
at large, the Sistema Italia, which engages many actors from local and central public administration
bodies, the civil society and the entrepreneurial world, to whom a more solid institutional support will be
guaranteed. Overall, Italy is convinced that the implications and potentials of the development
cooperation policy cannot only be limited to the issue of ODA financial flows: rather, development and
its financial modalities have to be considered in a more comprehensive view, coherently with the
financing for development holistic agenda and with an approach that fosters the utmost sharing of
responsibilities with partner countries.
As far as Aid Effectiveness is concerned, Italy confirms its commitment to implement the principles
set in the 2005 Paris Declaration and renovated in the 2008 Accra Agenda for Action. As one of the
founding members of the European Union, it is greatly involved also in the related EU processes, as
shown by its commitment to implement the “European Consensus for Development”, agreed in 2006.
Likewise, the Italian action will continue to be inspired in particular by those MDGs directly linked to
poverty reduction, health and sustainable development issues.
As regards ODA volume, though Italy renews its commitment to progressively increase it towards
the final objective of 2015 agreed in Monterrey, its quantitative development will inevitably be affected by
Italy’s serious, specific budgetary constraints.
In the EU context, as well as in the domain of the OECD-DAC, Italy is increasingly paying attention
to the issue of policy coherence for development (PCD), as emerged also among the priorities of the G8
2009 Italian Presidency. To date, the main PCD coordination mechanisms in place in Italy are the “Inter-ministerial
Committee for Economic Planning - CIPE”, the “Steering Committee for Development
Cooperation” and the “State - Regions Consultation” (Conferenza Stato-Regioni). With regard to PCD
themes, Italy is engaged mainly in the fields of environment/climate change and of migration.
Following the multi-annual 2007-2009 strategic note, and upon the 2004 OECD Peer Review
recommendation of better defining a national vision, recently, the DGCS elaborated the “2009-2011
Programming Guidelines and Directions”, which set a roadmap of the development aid policies and
activities for the next three years. Moreover, the document identifies sector priorities and, for the first
time, it divides countries into Priority 1 and Priority 2. Communication to the Parliament is made
essentially through the “Annual Report to the Parliament on the implementation of the development
cooperation policy”. In addition, IC communicates its strategies and activities to the wider public through
its Official Website (created in 2007) and through the Italian Development Cooperation’s weekly bulletin,
called “DIPCO”, which is being completely renovated.
Italian Cooperation is ruled by Law 49 of 1987 and its following integrations. The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs is in charge of Development Cooperation mainly through the Directorate General for Development
Cooperation - DGCS. At field level, IC operates through Local Technical Units - UTLs (Unità Tecniche
Locali), based in 25 partner countries and directly attached to the Embassies. The other main
administration in charge of development-related activities is the Ministry of Economy and Finance - MEF,
which manages mainly ODA through Multilateral Development Banks - MDBs and is in charge of the
contributions to the European Union. Other ministries such as those of Health and the Environment also
manage a few development cooperation activities. Furthermore, CSOs and decentralized cooperation
actors play a key role within the wider Italian Cooperation system. To this regard, Italy is making an
effort in order to achieve an enhanced level of coordination among the various actors involved and, in
general, so as to make the Sistema Italia more solid and effective: new framework agreements with both
CSOs and Local Authorities have recently been signed.
The overall ODA disbursed by Italy has, from the time of the last Peer Review (2004), increased both in
absolute terms and as a percentage of the GNI. In fact, ODA passed from 2.461 million USD in 2004 to 4,4
billion in 2008, with an increase of 81%, in absolute terms. The ODA/GNI ratio has also increased, passing
from 0,15 of 2004 to 0,20 of 2008. Italian Cooperation resources allocated to the multilateral channel are
generally higher than those for the bilateral one. During the last few years, a new balance, more oriented
towards the bilateral channel, has been pursued, though Italy will continue recognize specific added value
to IIOO, mainly in terms of their capacity and vocation to operate in crisis and post conflict scenarios, in
humanitarian emergency settings as well as in sensitive sectors such as good governance, human rights and
rule of law, democratization and the protection of the most vulnerable part of the population.
Italy is aware of the need of concentrating aid flows to a more limited number of partner countries;
however, it has to be borne in mind that the ten largest recipients of Italian bilateral aid received, alone,
83% (in 2005), 86% (in 2006), 75% (in 2007) and 73% (in 2008) of Italian ODA. Middle East Asia and Sub-
Saharan Africa are, respectively, the two main recipients of Italian bilateral aid flows.

At operational level, new sets of guidelines have been defined or are under way while new
procedures on procurement, technical assistance, soft loans and monitoring and evaluation are being
developed. Furthermore, due to an ongoing decentralization process undertaken by the DGCS in the last
couple of years, UTLs’ responsibilities have increased.
Special issues: Agriculture, high food prices and donor response and humanitarian action
To ensure an immediate and effective reaction to the recent food crisis, Italy has taken appropriate
actions through bilateral and multilateral initiatives, in particular with the World Food Programme, IFAD
and FAO. Agriculture and food security continue to be a key priority for Italy and, thus, the importance
of this topic will be remarked also during the 2009 G8. In order to sustain agricultural development and
to support partner countries coping with high food prices and food insecurity, Italy is following a double
track. On the one hand, it continues to support partner countries’ capacities especially in terms of
resource management, with particular attention to biodiversity, forests, water and renewable energy
resources. On the other hand, Italy is actively sustaining the establishment of the Global Partnership for
Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition (GPAFSN).
Overall, the Italian development agricultural policy devotes particular attention to the diversification
of farm and non-farm sources of income for farmers, taking into account the sustainability of the actions
also in terms of environmental impact. Moreover, Italy continues to focus great attention on the
participatory approach in the identification and implementation of integrated rural development
programmes, on the empowerment of the role of women in agriculture and on topics such as water
scarcity and environmental protection and conservation.
Italy’s humanitarian action is based on the principles set by the Good Humanitarian Donorship
Initiative and, as an EU Member State, on the EU Consensus on Humanitarian Aid and the related action
plan adopted in 2008.
Italy, recognizing the overall leading coordination role of United Nations in the international
humanitarian action, supports, in particular, the UN-OCHA leadership when humanitarian responses are
needed. At operational level, it channels about 40% of the humanitarian resources through UN
Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeals and International Red Crescent Movement appeals and 60% through
the bilateral channel. Each year, the Financial Law approved by the Italian Parliament determines the
financial envelope for humanitarian assistance. Moreover, in order to give immediate response to
emergency appeals, the emergency office has created a financial mechanism called “emergency bilateral
fund”, a cash reserve from which financial withdrawals can be made and promptly transferred to specific
international organizations.
Aid effectiveness and capacity development
Coherently with the commitments towards the principles of Aid Effectiveness, over the past few
years the overall Italian approach has switched so as to become more harmonised and aligned, relying
progressively less on direct DGCS-managed programmes and more on partner countries’ ones. For this
reason, the DGCS recently set up a Working Group on Aid Effectiveness (WGAE), in charge of
implementing the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action, and whose aim is to elaborate a
shared action plan, updating sector guidelines and renewing the evaluation and monitoring system.
Overall, the 2008 DAC survey on monitoring the Paris Declaration shows that, with regard to a
number of indicators, Italy has made important improvements in relation to the goals set for 2010. For
example, over the recent years, Italian Cooperation has been relying progressively more on multi-donor
pooled funding, recognizing that coordinated actions are keener to support more sustainable, equitable
and effective development processes in partner countries. Nevertheless, Italy is aware that improvements
are still needed with respect to other issues, such as decreasing the number of Project Implementation
Units (PIUs). As an EU Member State, Italy is committed to the implementation of the EU Code of
Conduct on the Division of Labour. Specifically, in each partner country, IC is working on the reduction
of the sectors of intervention: in Albania, Ethiopia, Lebanon and Mozambique this process is currently at
a more advanced stage. At present, Italy is in-country facilitator in the ongoing Division of Labour process
in Albania and is focal point for the Health sector (with the World Health Organization).
The concept and actual implications of capacity development (CD) are widely understood and
accepted within Italian Cooperation, both at headquarter and at field level. For this reason, the network
of UTLs has been mobilised for a first inventory of best/worst practices and lessons learnt which could
pave the way for drafting specific guidelines, to which attention will be given in the near future. Among
CD practices, Italy has been supporting mainly triangular cooperation and the provision of technical
assistance for developing capacities in partner countries particularly for managing public financial,
procurement and monitoring systems.

1. Chapter 1 – Strategic orientation
Italy is conscious of the fact that the ongoing financial and general economic crisis could,
on the one hand, produce negative consequences on human security especially in least
developed countries (LDCs) as well as in fragile states and, on the other hand, it could worsen
the existing gap between North and South. As one of the main players in the field of
international development cooperation and as one of the ten largest DAC donors in terms of aid
volume in recent years, Italy feels a special responsibility towards developing countries and is
aware of its role in development aid, also as a member of the G8 and as one of the founding
fathers of the EU.
In May 2008 political elections took place in Italy and an electoral shift brought to power
the right wing coalition. Shortly afterward, the internal organization of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (MFA) and of the Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGCS) was also
slightly modified. However, regardless of the natural, partial reorganization that usually follows
political elections, continuity was sought in terms of strategic orientations and commitments.
Development cooperation is one of the main components of Italian foreign policy and Italy
plays an active role in many multilateral fora dealing with development aid. Since 2003, Italian
Development Cooperation has been committed to the implementation of the principles of Aid
Effectiveness, internationally agreed in the frameworks of the “Rome Declaration on
Harmonization” (2003), the 2005 “Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness” and the 2008 “Accra
Agenda for Action” (AAA). Also by actively taking part into the “2008 Doha Conference to
Review the Monterrey Consensus - Financing for Development”, Italy is demonstrating particular
sensitivity towards the needs of developing countries in the ongoing global financial crisis, as
well as the need to work together to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
As one of the founding members of the European Union (EU), Italy is greatly involved in
the EU processes dealing with Aid Effectiveness, as shown by its commitment to implementing
the “European Consensus for Development”, agreed in 2006. As a follow-up of the High Level
Meeting held in Accra last September, Italy is progressively engaging itself in the
implementation of the process of Division of Labour (DoL). In this regard, Italy is focusing on
the implementation of the 2007 “EU Code of Conduct of Division of Labour”, also by taking
the role of Lead Facilitator in Albania. In the EU context, as well as in the domain of the
OECD-DAC, Italy is increasingly paying attention to the issue of policy coherence for
development (PCD).
In an effort to make the Italian Cooperation system more consistent vis à vis the principles
set in Paris and Accra, a Working Group on Aid Effectiveness (WGAE) has been set up as of
September 2008. The group, which gathers officials from the different DGCS offices as well as a
representative of the CSOs, is proceeding to the update of sector guidelines and the renewal of
the evaluation and monitoring system while specific importance is being given to other issues
such as further untying aid and budget support. The WGAE is in charge of implementing the
Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action, as well as following the DAC Peer Review
process for 2009.
The need for greater clarity in stating aid policies, including that for poverty reduction,
was one of the main “2004 Peer Review” recommendations towards Italy. According to the
DAC, Italian aid policies should be made accessible to all and described more operationally. In
this direction, recently, the DGCS, in close consultation with other entities, elaborated the
“2009-2011 Programming Guidelines and Directions”, which plan the development aid policies
and activities for the next three years.
Though Italy renews its commitment to progressively increase the ODA volume towards
the final objective of 2015, as agreed in Monterrey, yet, the quantitative development of its aid
flows will inevitably be affected by Italy’s serious budgetary constraints. The 2009 decline in the
amount of funds allocated for development cooperation activities set by the annual Financial

Law has to be assessed in the frame of what Italy has done so far: in fact, until 2007/2008, Italy
has been one of the major donor among those providing financial support for development
activities in partner countries, also through the contributions made to NGOs, International
Organizations (IIOO) as well as to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Italy is firmly committed to continue mobilizing, with a renewed dynamism, its cooperation
system at large, the Sistema Italia, which engages many actors from local and central public
administration bodies, the civil society and the entrepreneurial world, to whom a more solid
institutional support will be guaranteed. In particular, Italy will put special emphasis in
promoting public-private partnerships while being aware of the fact that a well-defined
framework will be essential in order to guarantee that human development will represent the
bulk of the goals pursued. Overall, Italy is convinced that the implications and potentials of the
development cooperation policy cannot only be limited to the issue of ODA financial flows:
rather, development and its financial modalities have to be considered in a more comprehensive
view, coherently with the financing for development holistic agenda and with an approach that
fosters the utmost sharing of responsibilities with partner countries.
The achievement of the Millennium Development Goals within 2015, to which Italy is
committed both at bilateral and at multilateral level as well as in the frame of the European
Union, not only stands as an ethical obligation of solidarity towards those populations deprived
of their essential needs but also as a strategic investment for the benefits of Italy itself. Italian
action will continue to be inspired in particular by those MDGs directly linked to poverty
reduction, health and sustainable development issues. Coherently, Italy has given its support for
the opening of the European branch of the Millennium Campaign in Rome, with the aim of
stimulating the debate and of raising awareness on such issues.
Italy will organize the Expo which will be hosted by the city of Milan in 2015, the year set
as deadline for the achievement of the MDGs. For this reason, some 485 cooperation projects
are in the pipeline and they will address mainly the food security, health, women’s
empowerment and biodiversity sectors in Africa, Caribbean, Pacific and Latin American
countries. Special attention will be given to fostering synergies and complementarities with the
policies and programmes of the Italian Cooperation.
Since the international community agreed on the binding necessity to give priority to
eradicating extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, Italy has decided to address half of its total
ODA for activities in the Continent for the next three years. Coherently, the Italian ODA flows
to Sub-Saharan Africa have significantly increased over the past few years: grants increased from
some 125 million USD in 2005 up to 218 million USD in 2008.
Italy is committed to progressively decreasing the share of tied aid. On 25 July 2008, the
OECD-DAC extended the Recommendation to untie ODA so as to include another eight non
LDCs which are among the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC). Subsequently, in
December 2008, the Steering Committee of the Italian General Directorate for Development
Cooperation adopted the necessary measures to apply the above-mentioned Recommendation.
Italy strongly reaffirms the need to mainstream gender issues into development policies and
programmes as well as to support women’s empowerment activities, with a special focus on Sub-
Saharan Africa. The Italian commitment towards these issues is embedded in the “2009-2011
Programming Guidelines and Directions”; furthermore, initiatives such as the 2007 Bamako
Conference on “The empowerment of women in West Africa: a dialogue between institutions,
civil society and Italian cooperation” testify the increasing Italian effort in this field and, at the
same time, boosted the implementation of gender related activities.
As far as the designation of a focal point for development cooperation is concerned, the
increasing importance of development cooperation in a changing international landscape, as a
fundamental part of national foreign policy led the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs to keep for
himself the portfolio for development cooperation. This important decision made the highest
authority responsible for Italy’s foreign policy to also be the focal point for development
cooperation at both national and international level.
As far as the simplification of administrative and budgetary procedures is concerned, the
Italian MFA has already started working on it, with a view to increase the efficiency and the

effectiveness of the system and to reduce the current administrative time to implement
development aid. New procedures on procurement, technical assistance, soft loans and
monitoring and evaluation are currently being developed. Furthermore, due to an ongoing
decentralization process undertaken by the DGCS in the last couple of years, UTLs’
responsibilities have increased.
Finally, the issue of human resources is key and has to be considered in order to ensure
the necessary expertise and skill profiles in the field of development cooperation, even though
specific budgetary and legal constraints set restrictions on the recruitment of staff resources. In
this regard, the Directorate General for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs is, at present, working on setting up a national selection of experts in the field of
development cooperation.
1.2. The Italian Cooperation System (IC)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in charge of Development Cooperation mainly through
the Directorate General for Development Cooperation - DGCS. At field level, the IC operates
through Local Technical Units - UTLs (Unità Tecniche Locali), based in 25 partner countries and
directly attached to the Embassies. The other main administration in charge of development-related
activities is the Ministry of Economy and Finance - MEF, which manages mainly ODA
through Multilateral Development Banks - MDBs and is in charge of the contributions to the
European Union. Other ministries such as those of Health and the Environment also manage a
few development cooperation activities.
Italian Cooperation has always sought collaboration and synergies with the Sistema Italia, a
rather multifaceted group of stakeholders which include Non Governmental Organizations
(NGOs), Regions and Local Authorities, economic associations and universities.
The IC system includes Non Governmental Organizations, whose number has been steadily
increasing over the years. Considering coordination a top priority, in 2008 the DGCS has
finalized an Agreement with the Italian Non Governmental Federations representing the main
NGOs active in Italy, which placed collaboration on new modern bases. Its main and general
objective is about improving Aid Effectiveness of the Italian Cooperation System by putting into
practice the Rome, Paris and Accra principles, as well as contributing to the alignment of Italy
towards the international consensus agreed at both OECD and EU level. This collaboration
between Institutional and non-Institutional actors will specifically consist of providing the DGCS
with a technical and different point of view in the elaboration of the national plan of Aid
Effectiveness and the 2009 OECD-DAC Memorandum of Peer Review. Furthermore, this
Agreement is contributing to respond to a request for more transparency and more detailed
information on the activity of the Italian Development Cooperation.
The Italian cooperation system is also made up of Regions and Local Authorities which
carry out activities in several partner countries with the involvement of actors of their
territories. The so-called decentralized cooperation might well be considered one of the
peculiarities of the Italian cooperation: with a steadily increasing number of initiatives
implemented and human and financial resources allocated, the MFA felt the urgency of
fostering coherence and coordination with the concerned actors. For this reason, a new
Agreement between Italian Regions and the Italian MFA has recently been signed. Working
with Local actors is meant to be a new stimulus for the Italian Development system. At the
same time, the DGCS is working with Regions and Local Authorities on the setting up of a
database to keeps track of all the programmes and projects implemented by the decentralized
cooperation actors.
The support to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) has traditionally been a
priority for Italian Cooperation which, for this reason, has always sought to increase the
collaboration opportunities with industrial and manufacturers associations: their experience and
know-how are, in fact, the key to support private sector development, to enhance public-private
dialogue as well as to foster Italian SMEs’ involvement in partner countries. Moreover, in

recent years, commercial banks have increased their interest, and participation particularly in
programmes which focus on remittances and migrants.
Italy has traditionally fostered links and collaboration among Italian universities and those
in partner countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Balkans and the Mediterranean basin,
where synergies are sought with cultural cooperation activities. In addition, Italian Cooperation,
in collaboration with universities, supports the organization of master courses and grants
scholarships.
1.3. The legal foundations
Italian Cooperation is ruled by Law 49 of 1987 and its following integrations. Italy is aware
that its Development system would benefit from an updated legislation which would enable it
to keep the pace with the modern challenges in the field of development cooperation. The
reform would represent the occasion to endow Italian Cooperation with a system of strategic
conduction and an operational management fully in line with new scenarios and needs of
development aid.
In 2004, also as a response to the recommendations of the OECD/DAC Peer Review, the
need for a legislative reform of Law 49/1987 clearly emerged. In this regard, several
development cooperation draft bills were discussed in the Italian Parliament during the last
Legislature (2006 - May 2008), including a draft bill presented by the government. A critical
factor in hampering the afore-mentioned reform process was the wide range of opinions and
views, within the Parliament, on the modalities for the creation of a separate Agency for
development cooperation. Due to the early elections and change of government, these draft
bills on the reform of the Italian cooperation system were not approved.
Within the context of the previous Legislature (2006 - May 2008) 1, as well as in the context
of the current one 2, the possibility of a reform of the Italian Development Cooperation system
is under consideration. In this sense, general and widespread consensus will be sought, within
the Parliament, on the need to update Law 49, with a view to pushing forward the afore-mentioned
reform. One of the main goals of a renewed development cooperation system is
considered to be consistent with building a dialogue that involves the main relevant actors and
stakeholders in Italy’s development cooperation.
1.4. Sector priorities
As far as the “2004 Peer Review” recommendations are concerned, the OECD-DAC was
acquainted with the necessity for Italy to define a national vision for development cooperation
derived from a more inclusive and broad-reaching dialogue with Italian peers in development.
Italy was also required to achieve an operational strategy on how to contribute to the
achievement of the MDGs by 2015. In this regard, Italy took a few steps forward by endowing
itself with strategic policy orientations in the last few years. To this regard, the DGCS, after
proceeding with a consultation with other Ministries and Institutional bodies dealing with
Development Cooperation, elaborated the “2009-2011 Programming Guidelines and Directions”,
which plan the development aid policies and activities for the next three years. This document
identifies geographical and sector priorities considered fundamental in the implementation of
aid policies.
1 “Law 49/87 is important but outdated: it has to be modified”, said the Secretary of State for Development
Cooperation, Patrizia Sentinelli, on 18th October 2006 in a speech at the Parliamentary Committee for Foreign Affairs
of the Italian Parliament.
2 “The reform of Law 49/87 on development cooperation is one of the legislative initiatives to be taken by the
Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs”, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Franco Frattini, on 2nd July 2008 in a speech
at the Parliamentary Committee for Foreign Affairs of the Italian Parliament.

Moreover, a relevant contribution to the definition of a national vision to be implemented
together with an operational strategy is annually given by the “Relazione previsionale e
programmatica della cooperazione allo sviluppo”, a report addressed to the Italian Parliament
by the MFA, which sketches the priorities of Italian Cooperation.
The multi-annual 2007-2009 strategic note (“Nota informativa sugli indirizzi di
programmazione 2007-2009”, DIPCO 14/2007) had already better defined a national vision, by
identifying Sub-Saharan Africa and countries in a conflict or post-conflict situation (in particular
Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Sudan, Somalia, Palestinian Territories) as a priority for aid
allocation. The document also rationalized priority sectors with a focus on health, education,
environment and community assets (with particular reference to rural development, organic or
conventional agriculture) and alternative and renewable resources, global public goods and
gender equality.
In addition, the IC has recently undertaken a process of updating and elaborating thematic
guidelines, through a consultation process with other Ministries, Institutions and civil society,
which provide policy orientations and operational strategies for the implementation of
cooperation activities in specific sectors. The Guidelines on the Health sector have recently
been updated while the others (see table below) will be completed within the first semester of
2009.
Theme Status
Health Updated in 2009
Gender Equality and
Women’s Empowerment Currently being updated
Persons with disabilities Currently being updated
Minors Currently being updated
Education Currently been elaborated
Poverty reduction Update foreseen
Decentralized cooperation Elaboration foreseen
Budget support Elaboration foreseen
Country systems Elaboration foreseen
According to the “2009-2011 Programming Guidelines and Directions”, the main sectors of
involvement are those described in the following paragraphs.
1.4.1. Agriculture and food security
Italy will continue its efforts to build a global partnership for food security and for facing
today’s structural challenges related to infrastructure and commerce, research, coordination and
synergies among international donors. However, for a complete and detailed description of the
Italian Cooperation’s main actions and orientations in the field of agriculture and food security,
see paragraph 6.2.
1.4.2. Environment, management of natural resources
Building upon the Millennium Development Goals’ recognition of the critical role of
environmental sustainability in the fight against poverty, Italian Cooperation has been pursuing
goal number 7 with growing investments at both bilateral and multilateral levels. Under the
Italian presidency, the G8 has selected Environment, land use and natural resource management
as a priority sector in 2009.
The Environment Programme of the DGCS has adopted, at both policy and project levels, a
strategy based on a systemic approach to development, aimed at reducing the risk of collision

between environment conservation and poverty alleviation goals. Coherently, Italy promotes the
integration of social and economic aspects into all initiatives designed to protect the
environment, and vice versa, also in support of the preparation of the 2012 World Summit on
Sustainable Development.
This very systemic approach emerges as a key issue for the DGCS, when pursuing policy
coherence for development. Over the years, Italy has actively been promoting synergies in the
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and other relevant conventions, including by
supporting the establishment of a coherent set of activities in arid lands with the United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification and the Convention on Biological Diversity. In a
coordinated action which involves the MFA, the MEF and the Ministry for the Environment,
Land and Sea (IMELS), the DGCS has provided political, technical and financial support to
several multilateral and bilateral processes aimed at adapting development pursuits in different
sectors to Climate Change.
The Global Partnership for Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions (GMP) was
launched in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development by the governments of Italy
and Switzerland together with FAO and UNEP, in recognition of the global role played by
mountain ecosystem services in the provision of strategic development resources and their tight
correlation with climate changes. Such a support at global strategic level is corroborated by a
number of projects implemented by the DGCS under the GMP policy strategic guidelines, at
both the bilateral and multilateral levels.
Keywords such as networking, south-south cooperation, know-how and technology
transfer, institutional capacity building, have also guided the DGCS in its contribution to
building the foundations of a further global process: a programme aimed at supporting
biodiversity conservation and sustainable development of the islands, recognized as the most
vulnerable to climate change. Building upon the Small Islands Developing States (SIDS)
partnership launched by the Italian government in the framework of the 2005 Mauritius
Conference on Sustainable Development, the DGCS established, jointly with partner
governments, International Organizations and NGOs, the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA).
Within this framework, numerous initiatives have been implemented by Italy on relevant
priority conservation issues including preparedness to cope with the impacts of climatic events,
resilience and disaster prevention, energy efficiency and promotion of renewable energies.
At multilateral level, Italy actively supports United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) activities such as, among others, the Caribbean Challenge initiative for biodiversity
conservation and Marine protected areas networks and the Karakorum Trust Fund for
sustainable development in northern Pakistan. Moreover, it sustains the activities of the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with which Italy has a Framework
Agreement: initiatives include the “Programme of Work on Island Biodiversity” and the
“Renewable energy project with the Pacific Island States”. Italian Cooperation also supports
environmental initiatives implemented by other organizations such as the European
Commission (EC), the World Bank (WB), UNDP, FAO, the Global Environmental Facility (GEF)
and UNDESA.
At bilateral and multi-bilateral levels, the DGCS has fostered technology and know-how
transfer both at south-south and north-south level, including towards disaster prevention and
preparedness, consolidation of institutional capacities to manage trans-boundary ecosystems
and climate change challenges at the regional, national and cross-border levels (with activities
in, among others, China, Pakistan, Yemen, Palestinian Territories). In particular, with regard to
the latter, while actively supporting global trans-boundary protected areas policy development
(such as on the South Africa – Mozambique – Zimbabwe borders), the DGCS has implemented
environmental projects in the framework of major processes, including peace parks, post-conflict
rehabilitation, fight against drugs and conservation and requalification of the Amazon
forest biome. Finally, DGCS has been active in monitoring atmospheric processes and their
bearing on the sustainable management of ecosystem structures and services, with particular
regard to the impact of climate changes on the productivity of strategic natural resources such
as water and soil.

1.4.3. Health
Italian action in the field of health and development is strictly oriented towards the
attainment of the Health MDGs targets. Hence, IC focuses on pursuing the objective of
developing the capacities of the partner countries’ national systems in: i) reducing newborn
and child mortality; ii) improving maternal health; iii) tackling the spread of pandemic diseases
(HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria) and eradicating Polio. The commitment on MDGs-related
objectives finds substantial synergies in the continuous focus on some IC traditional
fields of expertise such as health systems strengthening, including the development of health
manpower, and the promotion of universal access to basic health services. Likewise, IC will
maintain its focus on other issues such as the control of non-communicable diseases, the
rehabilitation of disabilities due to physical, sensory, cognitive or intellectual impairments and
mental disorders.
Over the past few years, Italy’s overall commitment to health and development has steadily
been increasing, both in terms of bilateral and multilateral ODA. In particular, Italy actively
supports the fight against major pandemics, through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and the GAVI
Alliance, also by adopting innovative financing mechanisms such as the Advanced Market
Commitments (AMC) and the International Finance Facility for Immunization (IFF-Im).
With regard to child mortality (MDG 4), Italy, in collaboration with, among others, WHO
and UNICEF, promotes breastfeeding, immunisations, access to clean water and basic sanitation
as well as the integrated management of childhood illnesses such as diarrhoeal diseases, acute
respiratory infections and malaria. The strategic approach mainly used on Maternal and Child
Health is the support to the development of the health systems both at central and peripheral
levels.
With regard to maternal health (MDG 5), Italy actively operates in partnership with,
among others, UNICEF, UNFPA and WHO, in countries with the highest rates of maternal
mortality. Through awareness-raising and the strengthening of basic services, the IC promotes
sexual and reproductive health and safe motherhood. Moreover, Italy, in close collaboration
with Regions and Local Authorities, non-governmental and faith-based organizations and other
public and private actors, is engaged against genital mutilation, gender-based violence and
trafficking of young women, the latter also in collaboration with UNICEF, UNFPA, IOM and
UNICRI.
With regard to combating AIDS, malaria and other diseases (MDG 6), Italy has increased,
over the years, its financial allocations to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria: since 2001, Italy is the third donor and, like Japan and the USA, holds its own seat on
the Board. In addition, Italy carries out specific bilateral initiatives for the control of endemic
diseases, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa, by providing technical assistance to national
programmes, training of trainers, strengthening of services as well as by assisting orphans and
families hit by high mortality diseases. Finally, particular attention is given to initiatives for the
prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and for the prevention of the mother to child
transmission of the HIV virus.
More in general, IC endeavours to increase the overall quality of and access to health
services for the poorest and most vulnerable groups through: physical rehabilitation of health
facilities (as in South Sudan), integration of public and private health care systems (as in
Uganda), training of local personnel (as in Somalia and Niger), strengthening of health
information systems (as in South Africa and Ethiopia).
IC provides soft loans to middle income countries and grants to LDCs for the purchase of
biomedical equipment (China, Argentina and Uruguay, Ecuador, Syria, Mozambique). In a trend
towards harmonization and alignment, Italy is increasing ODA investments through health
sector budget support (in Ethiopia, Palestinian Territories, Mozambique), associated with
technical assistance for the elaboration and implementation of national health strategies and
plans.

Supporting the Ethiopian Health Sector Development Programme
In the framework of the Ethio-Italian Development Cooperation Country Program
(signed in 1999), the two governments agreed, among others, to support the health sector
as a priority area of intervention, in order to improve the wellbeing of the population. The
modalities established for this support were, at that time, quite an innovation: since 2002,
Italy has been supporting the Ethiopian Health Sector through the provision of 15,75
million euros, directly granted to the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, and high level technical
assistance to contribute to the implementation of the country’s Health Sector Development
Program (HSDP). In the 2002-2008 period, within this framework, IC provided financial
resources and targeted technical assistance for strengthening the health systems in four
regions (Afar, Oromia, Somali, and Tigray), and at the central level (Human Resource
Development, Drug Management, Health Management Information System). This
framework, by facilitating the progress from the project-based approach to a country
programme-based support, has granted IC a good position in the further development of
health cooperation in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia is one of the countries where the process of harmonisation, alignment and
increasing Aid Effectiveness in the health sector has registered some of the most remarkable
steps forward. In the framework of the Global Campaign for Health MDGs, the International
Health Partnership (IHP) launched in London in September 2007, in line with the Paris
Declaration, has seen Ethiopia as one of the first wave of developing countries signing the
global Compact, and Italy as one of the first signatories from the donors’ side. Further
developments in Ethiopia, strongly supported by IC technical assistance, brought to the
definition and signature of the IHP country compact in August 2008 (Ethiopia was the first
country in the world to complete the process). The IHP, aimed at strengthening country
ownership, mutual accountability and aid effectiveness, constitutes the framework within
which Ethiopia is developing suitable tools and conditions for wide sector budget support,
thus increasing the amount of financial resources directed to the health sector through
multi-donor channels. Italy, among other donors, is going to finance the PBS (Protection of
Basic Services), a pooled fund, coordinated by the World Bank, which provides support to
the Ethiopian HSDP. Future plans include the contribution to the MDG fund, the actual tool
(currently being developed) for the Ethiopian health sector budget support. Italian technical
assistance is playing a substantial role in these processes, as also recognised by the
Ethiopian Ministry of Health and by other donors.
Finally, with respect to the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of mentally ill people, with
particular attention to the most vulnerable part of the population, such as persons with disabilities,
the elderly and people suffering from post conflict related traumas, IC is acting in Albania,
Serbia, Morocco, Palestinian Territories and the Dominican Republic. With respect to cancer
prevention and treatment, IC is acting in Morocco, Egypt, Palestinian Territories and Tunisia.
1.4.4. Education
The Italian Cooperation policy in the field of education is in line with the Millennium
Development Goals agenda, which endeavours to achieving universal primary completion and
gender parity in both primary and secondary education by 2015 (MDGs 2 and 3), and is
coherent with G8 commitments to “Education for All” (EFA), a priority highlighted since the
Genoa Summit in 2001.
Moreover, in the present scenario of financial and economic crisis, the role of education
has to be considered even more crucial in order to achieve sustainable economic growth and
recovery. Education represents an important factor of growth and stability at both the individual
and community levels and has a positive influence on all development sectors. Without quality

education for all, no country will be able to fulfil the engagements to ensure food security,
prevent the spread of diseases, improve health and reduce poverty, in favour of the most
disadvantaged groups including rural populations.
In April 2000, the Dakar World Education Forum launched a six-goal framework for action
to promote “Education for All”. Consistent with this framework, the policies of Italian
Cooperation aim at strengthening the national education systems and supporting the local
institutions responsible for education policies. Universal primary completion will be reached
only through strategies capable of enhancing the quality of education systems (including
infrastructures, teacher training, relevance of curricula, learning outcomes) as well as including
the most vulnerable sectors of the population (girls, disabled children, ethnic minorities, rural
populations). Specific attention is devoted to countries affected by conflict or crisis, where
Italian Cooperation contributes to the United Nations agencies programmes, promoting an
integrated and harmonized approach.
Through the bilateral channel, Italian Cooperation has launched numerous programmes to
support basic education, technical and vocational training as well as higher education, mainly in
Sub-Saharan Africa (Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Senegal, Uganda) and in the Mediterranean
basin (Albania, Egypt, Morocco, Palestinian Territories).
Education programmes are designed in coherence with broader community development
policies: indeed, schools are not “islands”, rather, they influence and contribute to social and
economic cohesion. National education policies require the commitment of a range of
stakeholders in order to be implemented in an effective way. In the IC strategy, the involvement
of communities and families is a priority, in order to ensure a better balance between needs and
solutions, a better distribution of resources, a growing feeling of ownership and personal
dignity. The contribution of civil society to the design of education sector plans is an important
factor to provide education services adequate to the society’s needs.
At the multilateral level, Italy supports UNESCO as the leading agency in the sector with a
coordination role in EFA. From 2004 to 2008, joint programmes were launched to develop
capacities of the Ministries of Education in Niger and in the Central African Republic, to assess
learning outcomes in Mozambique, to promote vocational training for girls in Sierra Leone and
Liberia, to train teachers in Burundi, Guinea Bissau and the Democratic Republic of Congo and
to support non formal education in Angola. Moreover, Italy has contributed to UNESCO
education programmes in Somalia and Sudan in the context of the Consolidated Appeals,
showing a special attention to fragile states.
Since its launch in 2002, Italy is a partner of the “Education for All - Fast Track Initiative”
and has contributed with 21 million euros to the Catalytic Fund administered by the World
Bank. In 2008, Italy became a member of the Fast Track Initiative (FTI) Steering Committee and,
in 2009, is co-chairing the initiative with Denmark. In this role, Italy is facilitating the reform of
the Governance of the FTI aimed at reinforcing coordination among the global and the country
level, required by the enlargement of the partnership. Indeed FTI is a model of harmonization
and alignment of donors around national education sector plans embedded in poverty
reduction strategies and is strongly contributing to increasing enrolment at the primary level.
Long-term support to FTI and consolidation of its operational structures are needed to maintain
enrolment results and expand the provision of primary education to reach universal completion
by 2015.
Furthermore, in the framework of the activities in the education sector, Italy also supports
training for students coming from partner countries, mainly for graduate and post-graduate
courses. IC provides scholarships or financial contribution to master’s degrees and specialization
courses organized by Italian universities. Scholarships are granted upon specific request
(through Italian Embassies) made by the authorities of a partner country to the DGCS.
Both for scholarships and for master and specialization courses, Italy gives priority to four
thematic areas. In the field of primary resources management (water, agriculture, environment), IC
supported, among others, a master’s degree course in aquaculture and sustainable fishery at the
University of Bertinoro/Forlì (2005-2008) and a master’s degree in water management (2006-2008)
at the Politecnico of Turin in collaboration with Hydroaid. In the field of SMEs development, IC

supported an “International Master in Microfinance” at the University of Bergamo (2007 and
2008) and a master’s degree in “State management and Humanitarian Affairs” at the University
of Rome, La Sapienza (2006). With regard to the health sector, IC sustained the “Programme to
support graduate and post graduate studies for Libyan citizens” (2005-2007) at the Università
Politecnica delle Marche. Finally, with regard to capacity and institution building, IC supported
a master’s degree in “Democracy and Human rights in South East Europe” at the University of
Bologna (2006-2008) in collaboration with UNIADRIAON (a network of universities based in
Italy, Greece and the Balkan countries) and a master’s degree in “Governance and production
systems in Lebanon” at the Università per Stranieri of Perugia (2008).
1.4.5. Governance and civil society (ICT and e-government)
IC considers governance as a key element for the attainment of the Millennium
Development Goals, as well as for ensuring better development performance and Aid
Effectiveness. In this context, Italy works with several partner countries with the objective of
strengthening democratic institutions and practices (such as electoral and legislative systems), of
fostering citizen engagement (particularly women) and enhancing the participation of non-governmental
organizations in the political process, as well as supporting the re-establishment
and strengthening of the rule of law.
In particular, the DGCS supports programmes for strengthening national Parliaments in
Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon Mauritania and Ghana. Italian Cooperation also finances initiatives in
support of electoral systems and processes in several countries including Timor Leste, Afghanistan,
Mozambique, Yemen, Ethiopia, Ghana, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Another important area of work is the support for the re-establishment of the rule of law in
countries stricken by violent conflicts. In this context, Italy is playing a key role in the
reconstruction of Afghanistan’s judiciary system. The programme supports the Afghan Ministry
of Justice, the Supreme Court and the Attorney General’s Office through legislative reform, the
construction and rehabilitation of infrastructures, and the organization of training courses for
judges, attorneys, and administrative staff. Italy also supports also several programmes
promoting decentralization and local governance. Besides the Art Initiative (see box below),
key programmes in this field are carried out in Senegal, Mozambique, Albania and Lebanon.
The ART Gold Experience
Italy considers governance and, in particular, democratic governance, a central
element for the achievement of the MDGs as it provides the enabling environment for their
achievement. In this context, the government of Italy has been a central player in
supporting the ART Initiative (Territorial and Thematic networks of Human Development
Cooperation) which fosters democratic governance through a territorial approach
promoting the active role of local communities.
Supporting the full ownership of partner countries, the ART programme involves the
UN system under the coordination of UNDP (ILO, UNIFEM, UNESCO, UNITAR, UNHCR,
UNOPS, WHO and others), national, regional and municipal governments, decentralized
cooperation actors, associations, universities, private sector and non-governmental
organizations. ART supports national cooperation framework programmes for governance
and local development, termed ART GOLD. The framework programmes create an
institutional context that allows the various local, national and international actors to
contribute to the country’s human development in a coordinated and complementary way.
The full involvement of the different stakeholders is achieved through the establishment of
Working Groups at national and local level. The Working Groups bring together existing
public and private structures and associations helping to build democratic governance.
Through a participatory approach the Working Groups identify needs and potentialities of
their territory and jointly define strategies and concrete activities to be implemented.

Activities are carried out with an integrated approach and have the objective of
strengthening local capacities in: governance, local economic development, local health
and welfare systems, local basic education and training systems, environmental protection
and territorial planning. Italy finances ART programmes in Albania, Serbia, Lebanon,
Bolivia, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and Central America. The framework
programmes are instruments for the harmonization of the contributions of different donors.
They are also supported by the governments of Belgium, Canada, France, Greece, Spain
and the Principality of Monaco. Regions and Local Authorities from the North and the
South contribute also to the programme with both financial and technical resources.
Since the G8 Summit in Genoa in 2001, Italy has been committed to promoting
development cooperation programmes aimed at reducing the “Digital Divide” in partner
countries. During the “Palermo International Conference” of April 2002, Italy launched the
programme “e-Government for Development” (EG4D) aimed at strengthening the role of ICT
technologies in support of public administrations in partner countries. Since then, IC has
financially supported 26 programmes which have been implemented with the technical
overview of the Ministry of Innovation and Public Administration. The initiatives have been
developed in the Mediterranean Area, the Balkans, Middle East, Africa and Latin America, in
partnership with UNDESA, UNDP, World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank with
specific focus on e-government, e-procurement, e-customs and e-taxation. These initiatives have
also involved public and private firms and other development actors such as NGOs, Scientific
Institutions, Universities, and Local Authorities both in Italy and in Partner Countries.
Initiatives include the Gov-Net Programme in Mozambique, which has created an e-
Network among all the Ministries of the Mozambique government; in its second phase, the
Programme (currently ongoing) is extending the Gov-Net also at Local Authority and civil
society level, with some 15.000 stakeholders involved. Furthermore, in collaboration with the
Italian Parliament and UNDESA, Italian Cooperation is contributing to the IT system support of
Parliaments in developing and transition countries: 14 African Parliaments have already
benefited from the Programme.
Within this framework, the Italian government supported the “Tunis United Nations Summit
on the Information Society” in 2005, the participation in the OECD Initiative for promoting
Good Governance in the Middle East and North African Countries and the action aimed at
extending the benefits of ICT technologies to African Parliaments through the setting up, in
Rome, of the Global Centre for ICT in Parliaments, in collaboration with UNDESA. To date,
there are several ongoing programmes also in countries such as Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt. The
last Global Forum on ICT for Parliaments, which took place in Budapest in 2009, has given
momentum to new initiatives aimed at giving ICT support to Parliaments, in particular in the
Balkans, Latin America and Africa.
Finally, given the positive results and potentials in this field, ICT and Development is going
to be among the highlights of the 2009 Italian Presidency of the G8 Summit.
1.4.6. Support to small and medium enterprises
Italy strongly reaffirms its commitment to support private sector development in partner
countries. Namely, Italy believes that sustaining Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) is
one of the key factors for increasing employment and for paving the way to a sustainable and
equitable market culture in developing countries. In addition, given an industrial structure
essentially based on MSMEs and on industrial districts, Italy can count on a relevant added
value, in terms of expertise and know-how, upon which it can build when operating in partner
countries in this field.
Italian Cooperation operates in such a manner to support, in particular, agriculture and
manufacturing activities, whose development has a more direct effect on poverty alleviation.

Cooperation programmes and projects aim at improving the capacity of MSMEs to access
technical and financial resources in order to expand their activities, to update their technologies,
to improve the quality of their management and the skill of their manpower. More in detail, at
the bilateral level, Italy sustains MSMEs development through credit lines, commodity aid,
equities to joint ventures and technical assistance.
With regard to credit lines, the funds are channelled to the partner country’s banking
system which, in turn, on-lend soft loans to MSMEs, paying utmost attention to loans conditions,
avoiding to produce distortions in the local market. A second instrument is commodity aid:
funds as grant or credit at very favourable conditions (interest rate of 0,2% a year with a 38-year
term for reimbursement) are granted to partner governments for purchasing machinery and
equipment to be transferred or sold to public or private enterprises. At present, there are some
38 ongoing programmes, both credit lines and commodity aid, implemented in 18 partner
countries. This type of project generally includes a technical assistance component whose main
duties entail the analysis and approval of the business plans submitted by local MSMEs when
requesting the concession of a loan: this task can be conducted either by experts appointed by
the DGCS or by the UNIDO - Industrial Promotion Office (IPO). Among these projects, it is
worth mentioning the Ghana Private Sector Development Fund, which addresses mainly agro-industry,
commodities (raw materials) and manufacturing sectors. Furthermore, in Jordan, credit
is given for activities capable of promoting technological innovation and employment (in
particular through labour-intensive projects).
The equities instrument promotes Italian direct investment in partner countries through
funding part of the risk capital of Italian entrepreneurs in joint ventures with local companies:
credit is granted at favourable conditions to Italian enterprises for partially financing their equity
in the joint ventures.
Italy also provides grants to co-finance Local Authorities, NGOs and other actors for
implementing activities tailored at strengthening MSMEs. These projects generally entail actions
aimed at improving workers’ conditions, reinforcing institutional networks and enhancing skills
and capacities through vocational training in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Morocco,
Algeria and in the Balkan area. When directly implementing bilateral initiatives, the IC can take
advantage of the technical assistance of specialized IIOO such as UNIDO (as in Pakistan).
Likewise, Italy operates also through the multilateral and the multi-bilateral channel, in
particular with UN agencies such as ILO and FAO.
Enhancing access to credit through risk mitigation mechanisms
Access to credit is one of the main factors hindering or, at least, slowing down the
private sector and, particularly, MSMEs, in many partner countries. To this regard, risk
mitigation mechanisms could contribute to coping with this problem. Low accessibility to
credit is mainly a direct consequence of general poor macro-economic conditions as well
as of unfavourable business environments which often represent a disincentive for private
companies willing to take, or to share, risks in region where they usually do not do
business.
What is more, Italy is keen to foster the mobilization of additional sources of finance
for development, and is convinced that private sector can play an important role in
alleviating poverty and in sustaining development processes in partner countries.
Therefore, Italy, in the framework of its 2009 G8 Presidency, has proposed to the African
Development Bank, the African governments and the direct investors in African
infrastructure, to finance assistance in order to support infrastructural project risk
evaluation, to broker risk mitigation mechanisms and/or financing, and to organize an
international conference which should raise attention on this issue and favour the debate
on this fundamental topic. For this scope, Italy has pledged 2 million euros which will be
used for recruiting a small team of experts as well as for financing capacity development
activities and the international conference.

1.4.7. Gender and women’s empowerment
Italian Cooperation activities related to the third MDG (Gender equality) are shaped
according to the “Guidelines for Empowerment of Women and the mainstreaming of a Gender
Perspective in Development Cooperation”. The guidelines, endorsed in 1998 and currently
being updated, are based on the principles set by the “Beijing Platform for Action” and other
criteria adopted at international level with subsequent treaties and declarations. In 2007-2008,
gender equality and women’s empowerment initiatives received a new impetus as a
consequence of the emphasis placed on the implementation of the MDGs and of the Paris
Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.
In particular, Italy identified the following priorities: i) support women in fragile states and
conflict situations; ii) advance women’s economic and political empowerment while
simultaneously informing and shaping national-level policymaking, generating strategic cross-national
and inter-regional partnerships; iii) keep focusing on the implementation of
international agreements such as the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Maputo Protocol as well as UN Security Council
(SC) Resolution 1325/2000 and 1820/2008.
At the operational level, the new approach translated into initiatives that mainstream
gender perspective throughout emergency programmes in fragile states and conflict situations
(as in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories, Somalia and Sudan) as well as in
programmes tailored to supporting women’s empowerment to fight against endemic poverty,
especially in priority countries of Sub-Saharan Africa (as in Mozambique and Ethiopia). As a
consequence, the international Conference held in Bamako in March 2007 “The empowerment
of women in West Africa: a dialogue between institutions, civil society and Italian cooperation”
represented the occasion for launching a specific initiative for the empowerment of women in
West Africa: within this framework, gender desks were set up in the UTLs in Senegal and the
Ivory Coast.
During the same period, as a member of the UN Security Council, Italy supported the
implementation of UN/SC Resolution 1325/2000 and 1820/2008 and increased its participation to
donor basket funds managed by UNIFEM in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Moreover, Italian support
to global campaigns was strengthened both at political and financial level focusing, in particular
on programmes against gender based violence (UNIFEM/Palestinian Territories; IOM/Nigeria),
Ending Female Genital Mutilations campaign (UNICEF-UNFPA/West Africa and Egypt); Pilot
initiatives on Women’s Empowerment and Local Development (UNIFEM/WELOD and
UNFEM/MYDEL).
Finally, Italy is working on the improvement of monitoring and reporting activities, on the
implementation of gender activities so as to analyse lessons learnt and best practices, on the
introduction of the Gender Equality Policy Marker in the DGCS activities as well as on the
revision of the Gender Guidelines.
1.4.8. Protection and enhancement of cultural heritage
Italy has traditionally devoted specific attention to protecting and enhancing cultural
heritage in partner countries. Over the past few years, the DGCS has promoted activities in this
field with the objective of supporting cultural identity, intended as a fundamental issue in order
to foster sustainable socio-economic development. Moreover, IC has strengthened its activities
in this sector also in conflict and post conflict areas.
Italian Cooperation addresses the following main sectors: i) technical assistance to local
institutions, ii) restoration of historical urban areas, iii) setting up of cultural centres, iv)
rehabilitation of archaeological areas and v) rehabilitation and setting up of museums.
Furthermore, environmental protection and rehabilitation is a cross-cutting component to which
the majority of the programmes/project pay due attention.
At operational level, the DGCS operates through both the bilateral and the multilateral
channel. With regard to the latter, Italian Cooperation traditionally collaborates with the World
Bank, UNESCO, the Italian-Latin American Institute (IILA) and the International Centre for the

Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM). Furthermore, Italy has
sought synergies with the private sector with the aim of involving enterprises in activities bound
to protect cultural heritage, recognizing the specific added value they can actually bring to this
end. Italy can also count on the important collaboration of the decentralized cooperation actors.
In fact, Regions and Local Authorities have often brought their experiences and know-how in
particular in the field of tourism, art and crafts, restoration, promotion of cultural events and use
of new information and communication technologies.
With regard to geographic areas, Italian Cooperation has numerous ongoing initiatives in
the Balkans, as, for example, the “Centre for restoration and conservation of monuments within
the IMK Institute of Cultural Monuments”, in Albania (in collaboration with UNESCO); the
programme “Pilot Activities for Education and Culture” in FYROM, which entails technical
assistance to local authorities for the decentralization of cultural and education activities (as
foreseen within the Ohrid Agreements); the “Safeguard of the Cultural Heritage” project in
Kosovo whose aim is to contribute to enhancing interethnic and intercultural dialogue also
through strengthening capacities in the preservation and management of cultural endowments.
Italy promotes the implementation of numerous initiatives also in North Africa, in particular in
Egypt, with the support to the museum system, and in Algeria, with the “Valorisation of the
Casbah of Algiers”. Moreover, there are several ongoing programmes and projects in the Middle
East area: in Lebanon, a programme aimed at rehabilitating the archaeological areas of Tyr,
Sidone and Baalbek, in Syria, an intervention for the restoration of the Damascus Museum and
in the Palestinian Territories, the “Bethlehem Area Conservation and Management Plan” project,
which supports local authorities in defining and implementing a legal framework to preserve
and protect the Region’s cultural endowment. Finally, in Asia, IC has at present three ongoing
activities in China.
1.4.9. Other cross-cutting issues
According to recent estimates, 650 million is the number of persons today living with
disabilities: 80% of these live in developing countries, the majority of which in extreme
poverty conditions. Moreover, among the poorest (those living on less than a dollar per day),
one out of five has a disability. To this regard, studies have demonstrated a positive correlation
among poverty and disability: the latter is, in fact, often associated with lower literacy,
employment, nutrition and vaccination rates. Likewise, disability also hampers the possibility to
fully participate to the economic and social life of the communities, in particular when these are
not endowed with adequate infrastructures and services.
Therefore, in view of the fact that persons with disabilities represent a relevant share of the
total world population and that they have a higher chance of living in poverty, the international
community is called to a renewed and enhanced effort to mainstream this issue into
development programmes as well as to promote specific actions.
As of March 2007, Italy has signed the New York Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities, adopted by the UN General Council in December 2006, and subscribed by 126
countries. Coherently, since then IC has launched numerous initiatives for the social,
educational and work inclusion of the disabled; a good share of these initiatives includes also a
technical assistance component aimed at enhancing the related legislative aspects.
To date, the DGCS is financing and carrying out programmes and projects in Albania,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cameroon, China, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Palestinian
Territories, Serbia, Sudan, Tunisia, Vietnam and Zambia. Of particular relevance are the activities
in Kosovo and Serbia. With regard to the former, the DGCS is collaborating with the Office of
the Prime Minister for the definition of the National Plan on Disabilities, which will be the
outcome of a coordinated and shared process which included central and Local Authorities,
IIOO and the local CSOs, in particular those of persons with disabilities. Coherently with art.
32 3 of the “UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”, the DGCS sent a
3 Art. 32 calls for “involving persons with disabilities in international development programmes”.

technical team of experts which included persons with disabilities. In Serbia, IC has recently
launched an initiative, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs,
aimed at de-institutionalizing minors and persons with disabilities, with the involvement of
representatives from the academic, institutional and civil society world of different Balkan
countries (namely Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, FYROM, Serbia) as well as from Italy, sharing
views and approaches on this very issue.
Finally, Italy is currently updating the guidelines on disabilities (elaborated in 2002) by
including principles and instruments for mainstreaming the issue within all IC programmes and
projects.
With regard to minors, IC promotes multi-sector integrated initiatives in which the young
generations are considered as a fundamental resource for sustainable development, for the
consolidation of democratic and peace-engendering processes as well as for the strengthening
of gender policies. The principles and priorities in this field are set by the “Guidelines of the
Italian Cooperation on Children and Adolescent Issues”, drafted by the DGCS in 1998 and
updated in 2004. The Guidelines are inspired first and foremost by the principles contained in
the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and related Protocols, in the Acts of the European
Union, in the United Nations’ Millennium Declaration, in the document “A World Fit for
Children” (whose Plan of Action was undersigned by numerous governments during the Special
Session on Children of the United Nations General Assembly in 2002), in the Conventions of the
International Labour Organisation (ILO), N°138 on minimum age and N°182 against the worst
forms of child labour with the attached Recommendation 190 and, finally, in the indications of
the European Union. In 2008, a “Working Group for the Application and Monitoring of the
Guidelines” was established within the UTC; this is currently updating the guidelines by
including principles and instruments for mainstreaming the issue within all IC programmes and
projects.
In this field, IC operates at both bilateral and multilateral level in collaboration with UN
agencies, Regions and Local Authorities as well as with CSOs. Programmes and projects
promote human and civil rights of girl and boy children, adolescents, and young persons, so as
to sustain and reinforce an action of cultural transformation that opposes all forms of disparity
between, and discrimination of, human beings from the time of their birth.
In particular, IC initiatives tackle those factors at the basis of difficult and harmful situations
for minors such as: extreme poverty, irregular urbanisation, breakdown of family and
community bonds, social exclusion, international trafficking of individuals (in particular of
“women” who are still underage, adolescents, and children), child labour in its worst forms, the
international clandestine-adoption market, sexual and commercial exploitation also in the tourist
industry, Internet paedo-pornography, child soldiers in armed conflict, migration of
unaccompanied children and adolescents at both intra and inter-regional level.
Furthermore, Italian Cooperation, in collaboration with Regions, Local Authorities and
CSOs, promotes education and awareness-raising initiatives aimed at improving the
understanding of the conditions of children and adolescents in partner countries as well as
amongst immigrants communities in Italy.
1.5. Geographic priorities
Italy is aware of the need of concentrating its intervention in a smaller number of partner
countries, as recommended by OECD/DAC in the 2004 Peer Review. Coherently, an important
step in this direction are the “2009-2011 Programming Guidelines and Directions” which identify
the Italian Cooperation geographic priorities for the next triennium and where, for the first time,
countries are divided into Priority 1 and Priority 2. Furthermore, Italy will continue to devote
special attention to fragile states and to countries in crisis and post conflict situations such as,
among others, Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan and the Darfur region of Sudan, where it operates
with an approach coherent with the DAC principles for good engagement in fragile states and
situations.

1.5.1. Sub-Saharan Africa
The geographical Office IV of the DGCS is in charge of IC activities in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Italy is aware that achieving the MDGs in Sub-Saharan Africa still stands as the major challenge
for international development cooperation. In this regard, throughout the years, Italy has
increased the amount of grants and of human resources devoted to eradicate poverty and
sustain an equitable development in the area. Its efforts duly take into account the necessity to
shape its intervention according to the principles of Aid Effectiveness, in particular by
coordinating and harmonizing it with the partner countries and with the other donors.
Coherently, in the next three years (2009-2011), Italy will devote half of its total ODA to Sub-
Saharan Africa.
Priority 1 countries Priority 2 countries
Niger Burkina Faso
Senegal Ghana
Sudan Sierra Leone
Ethiopia Guinea Bissau
Somalia Kenya
Mozambique
In priority countries, activities will be mainly concentrated in the sectors described in the
previous paragraph. Among these countries, Ethiopia and Mozambique have represented,
over the years, the two major recipients of Italian aid (see also table in §3.2). More in
general, the definition of priorities in Sub-Saharan Africa is the result of a consultative
process which involved the partner countries and the DGCS which ensures the coordination
of negotiation activities and a periodic consultations with partner countries’ governments.
More in details, priority countries are identified according to their needs and to the capacity
of IC to meet them in an effective manner. In addition, relevant criteria are also the proven
capacity of partner countries’ relevant authorities to effectively receive and manage ODA as
well as the degree of involvement of IC, in terms of financial and human resources, in a
specific country, in the attempt to give continuity to operations. Political evaluations of
opportunity also have a role, primarily in the choice between bilateral and multilateral
instruments. In countries not Priority 1 nor 2, IC will limit its intervention mainly until the
ongoing activities will come to an end, coherently with an effective exit strategy which
entails progressively leaving the ownership of programmes and projects to partner countries’
concerned parties.
On a general basis, programmes and projects have always been devised and identified in
close coordination with partner countries in sectors which the latter identify as a priority
according to their poverty reduction strategies. As a general tendency, the IC concentrates its
activities on sectors where it can express a major added value, namely health, education, rural
development and women’s empowerment (mainly after the 2007 Conference held in Bamako
– see §1.4.7); this is the result of a demand-driven approach, with partner countries
specifically requesting such interventions (Ethiopia and Mozambique among others). Overall,
Italy has been making major efforts in strengthening the ownership level and in extending the
use of country systems to the maximum extent possible; in this sense, over the past few
years, the number of programmes with management and funding directly earmarked to
central and Local Authorities has definitely increased, in particular by recurring to the
procedures of art. 15 of Law 49/87.
In general, Italy gives preference to bilateral initiatives in countries with a fair degree of
political stability and a proved technical capacity to manage ODA whereas the multilateral
channel is preferred primarily in fragile states and in crisis and post conflict situations.

The Italy-CILSS Fund to combat desertification for poverty reduction in Sahel
The Italy-CILSS Fund to Combat Desertification for Poverty Reduction in Sahel (ICF) is
one of the most important Italian initiatives in the Sahel Region. The Fund aims at improving
the socio-economic conditions of the most vulnerable populations, reducing factors causing
poverty, exclusion and inequalities and giving access to economic opportunities and basic
social services, with natural resource management as cross-cutting issue in Senegal, Mali,
Niger and Burkina Faso. Around 15.5 million Euro, administrated by UNOPS, are available
for activities to be implemented in extremely vulnerable administrative areas (Zones at High
Environmental and Social Risk - ZARESE). Local administrative bodies and associations, such
as Farmers’ and grass-root Organisations (F-GRO), are the promoters and managers of small
sized projects: they identify, design and implement the initiatives financed through the Fund.
ICF has an environmental oriented approach.
The ICF supports ownership at three levels (regional, national and local) and it aims
at strengthening capacities and coordination in the definition and implementation of food
security, natural resource management and decentralisation strategies, in a coherent
manner with respect to poverty reduction and sector policies. Based on a local
development approach, the ICF favours the development of local capacities and supports
the organization and mobilization of F-GROs, especially the planning and implementation
of local development initiatives, complementing government activities without distorting
established priorities. All proposed initiatives must be aligned with country strategies and
coherent with local and national priorities and are implemented by the local promoters (F-GROs,
local institutions).
Partners – national and decentralised institutions, NGO and F-GROs – recognised the
Fund as an innovative and effective tool supporting coordination and participation for the
definition and implementation of local development plans; furthermore, they positively
assessed the contribution of the ICF to the effective establishment of a more participatory
decision making process. In fact, local governments elaborated new (or updated the existing)
development plans, working in close collaboration with the civil society, and implemented
numerous small-initiatives financed by the ICF. Finally, of particular relevance is the
effective exchange and collaboration established between local governments and national
institutions able to sustain a real transfer of competencies and of strengthening synergies.
Regional approach is more prominent in West Africa with activities such as, for example,
the support to a natural park on the border between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso; the gender-focused
initiatives which followed the Bamako conference and the Italy-Cilss Fund for local
development in Senegal, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. Though programmes tend to focus on a
specific country at the time so as to maximize their impact, they are devised taking into
consideration general common issues such as desertification and drought so as to foster
coherency in the implementation of projects. Overall, the multilateral channel is preferred when
it comes to sustaining initiatives of a regional dimension.
1.5.2. Balkans, Mediterranean and Middle East countries
The geographical Office III of DGCS is in charge of the IC activities in the Balkans, the
Mediterranean and in Middle East countries. These areas include countries where Italy has
developed some of the most long lasting and multifaceted relations. In particular, the Balkans
represent a laboratory for the Sistema Italia at work, an area where Italy has deployed a huge
effort at all levels, especially starting from the implosion of the former Yugoslavia, from military
to humanitarian, from economic to the social sectors. On the other hand, Italy aims at
consolidating its role and at supporting the development process in Mediterranean countries
also through the valorisation of remittance flows originated in Italy. Finally, the Middle East

continues to be an utmost priority, especially in crisis and post conflict scenarios, where Italy
has been deploying an increasing effort directed to support reconstruction and to foster the
setting up of donor-coordination mechanisms.
Kosovo Albania
FYROM Serbia
Bosnia-Herzegovina Morocco
Egypt Mauritania
Tunisia Yemen
Palestinian Territories Syria
Lebanon
Iraq
The definition of priority and non-priority countries is the result of a planning activity on a
multi-year framework basis which has been conducted at both regional and country level. In
the next few years, Italy will concentrate on Priority 1 and 2 countries, whereas, in non-priority
ones, it will progressively undertake an exit strategy which entails bridging the ongoing
programmes and projects to the next phase, one in which partner countries will take on full
ownership.
In recent years, IC has made tangible progress toward harmonization and alignment with
donor countries. Italy increased its participation in local aid coordination groups, as in the case
of EU coordination groups, taking the leadership in specific sectors (e.g., the “Migration and co-development”
and the “Local development” groups in Morocco and Lebanon) or in multilateral
sector groups (e.g., the “Shepherdship initiative” in the health sector working group in the
Palestinian territories and the Iraq Reconstruction Forum and the International Funds for Iraq
Reconstruction).
Moreover, the growing importance of the cooperation initiatives carried out by the Italian
Regions and Local Authorities as well as the increasing amount of funds disbursed to co-finance
Italian NGOs has fostered partnerships with the CSOs in partner countries, in particular in the
Palestinian Territories, in Lebanon, in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in Kosovo.
The Italian integrated approach in Lebanon
The ROSS (Rehabilitation, Employment, Services and Development) Emergency
Programme was launched in the aftermath of the July 2006 war in Lebanon. An Emergency
Program Office was established in Tyr in September 2007, as the only governmental office
among Donors in South Lebanon. In 2008, a technical working group was established
between Italian and Lebanese experts in connection with international institutions and
agencies in order to produce a mid-term (2009-2011) priority intervention plan considering
the Lebanese government’s plans, the Italian government commitment to the MDGs and the
ongoing process of Division of Labour among EU donors (Italy is coordinating the EU donors’
working groups on local development and environment). Moreover, the coordination with
UNRWA and UN-OCHA is very close. The OECD/DAC “Guidelines on Poverty Reduction”, the
Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda are always a basic assumption in designing the
projects, enhancing democratic governance and supporting local development. All the
projects apply to the OECD/DAC “Principles for good International Engagement in Fragile
States & Situations”, with specific regard to principles 5, 6 and 10 (links between political,
security and development objectives, promotion of non-discrimination, avoiding pockets of
exclusion). Local Authorities, universities and CSOs are actively involved through workshops
and conferences. As the main UNIFIL contributor, Italy promotes an active military-civilian
cooperation (CIMIC) involving the DGCS, NGOs, the Embassy and the UN system.

Programming is strictly based on consultative processes with partner countries’
governments as well as on their national development strategies and priorities. Beginning
towards the end of the ‘90s, bilateral consultative groups and meetings have been set up in
order to implement multi-year investment programs (MYIP) in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Tunisia,
Morocco, Serbia and Albania. MYIPs have been defined on the basis of priorities identified by
local governments, taking also into account of cooperation programs run or under negotiation
with the main international donors such as the European Commission and the World Bank.
The adoption of a regional approach has increased since the last Peer Review of 2004.
After Lebanon and Jordan, regional programmes are now operational in the Palestinian
Territories, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco. Water source management, agriculture and irrigation,
health, protection of cultural heritage, migration and development are the main sectors
addressed. Coherently with a regional approach, a strategy aimed at integrating the Palestinian
people residing in the refugee camps hosted in Lebanon contributed to the stabilization of both
societies: Italy has recently pledged some 5 million euros during the international conference on
the reconstruction of Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp held as of June 2008 in Vienna.
1.5.3. Latin America, Caribbean, Asia and Pacific
The geographical Office V of the DGCS is in charge of the IC activities in Latin America,
Caribbean, Asia and Pacific. Italy can count on long-lasting and solid relations with Latin
America and, as outlined in the “2009-2011 Programming Guidelines and Directions”, its effort
within the area will continue in the next three years. However, in countries such as Argentina,
Uruguay and Brazil, which are now dynamic and growing economies, its involvement will
progressively be fine-tuned according to the changing priorities. The same applies for China
and India. Particular attention will continue to be devoted to Afghanistan, whose reconstruction
process will continue to stand as an utmost priority for Italy. To this regard, in a regional
stabilization and security perspective, Italian involvement in Pakistan will increase in the next
few years and priority will be given to interventions to support the return of Afghan refugees:
for this reason, the IC will carry out debt swap and it will consider the setting up of a field
office in the country. Finally, possible interventions in the agriculture and food security sectors
in North Korea are foreseen.
Ecuador Haiti
Peru Viet Nam
Bolivia Myanmar
El Salvador
Guatemala
Afghanistan
Pakistan
Priority countries have been selected according to their latest performance in terms of socio-economic
and human development. This selection is the result of a planning activity, on a multi-year
framework basis, which has been conducted at both regional and country level. Moreover,
the IC experience and potentials in the area have indeed been taken into consideration. On the
other hand, Italy is progressively decreasing its efforts, in terms of both human and financial
resources allocation, in non-priority countries (neither Priority 1 nor 2), namely in those countries
which, at present, are experiencing a positive trend of economic growth (albeit this might be a
rather inhomogeneous one) such as Brazil, Argentina, China and India. In general, coherently
with the need of a higher concentration of aid, in “non-priority countries” Italy aims at
progressively decreasing its ODA flows for the coming years and, in the meantime, concluding
ongoing activities and limiting its future interventions essentially to capacity building.

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