Fighting organized crime and
terrorism, dealing with migrants and developing economic ties in
sectors such as technology and infrastructure are among the
areas that southeast Asian States are most looking for
cooperation with Italy on, ASEAN ambassadors said on Wednesday.
"We are happy to see the role Italy is playing on the
migration issue," Malaysia's Ambassador to Rome Dato Abdul Samad
Othman told an ANSA Forum, referring to Italian demands for
action and efforts to save lives in the Mediterranean migrant
crisis.
"I think Italy has a big role to play and we would like to
share Italy's experience," he said, while stressing that his
country's problems with asylum seekers were not comparable with
those of Europe at the moment.
"We are also looking to you on organised crime - how to
reduce the threat of organised crime and terror. We want to see
more cooperation," he added to the forum organised to present a
report by the Ce.S.I (Centro Studi Internazionali) think tank on
relations between ASEAN States and Italy and the European Union.
Ce.S.I President Professor Andrea Margelletti pointed out
that Italy's efforts to save migrants are nothing new, recalling
the Italian Naval missions to rescue boat people in southeast
Asia in the 1970s, even though it was not central to Rome's
geopolitical interests at the time.
"Human lives are a cornerstone of Italian policy. For
Italy trust is a custom, not a fashion," Margelletti told the
forum.
"Unfortunately we are experts in fighting terrorism and
organized crime.
"Italy has expertise on how to destroy (criminal)
networks without the use of special laws".
Indonesian Ambassador August Parengkuan said Italian
President Sergio Mattarella's visit to the region last year had
helped raise Italy's profile there.
"It was a very impressive visit. People commented on his
peaceful face. A father figure," Parengkuan told the forum, at
which several participants stressed the need for Italy and the
ASEAN countries to know more about each other.
He said that Indonesia, which is made up of over 13,000
islands, was looking to develop cooperation in infrastructure.
"We need infrastructure to connect our islands, sea
ports," said Parengkuan.
"Infrastructure is a top priority and we can learn from
Italy, which is surrounded by the sea.
"Italy is not just spaghetti and lasagne. It's also high
tech, economics".
Philippines Ambassador Domingo Nolasco and Myanmar
Ambassador Myint Naung were also among the participants at the
forum.
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