Italian-Niger Cooperation Day in Niamey

(ANSA) - ROMA, 21 OTT - The Italian Embassy in Niger celebrated the 40th anniversary of Italian-Nigerian cooperation with a conference dedicated to the Keita Project. The project is a development programme in the Ader-Doutchi-Maggia (an eroded plateau in the country), initiated by Italy in the 1980s to promote the environment and sustainable development of the area. Foreign Minister Bakary Yaou Sangarè," the Farnesina reported, "welcomed the actions undertaken by the Italian project, reiterating the country's government's readiness to support this initiative. 'Italy,' he stressed, 'is an important and special partner. At a time when some partner countries have chosen to suspend their activities in Niger, Italy has not done so'.
    Italian Ambassador Roberto Orlando, welcoming the participants, said that the conference "presents the comprehensive points of this day commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Keita project". "This effort by our country," he added, "would not have been possible without the support of the Niger authorities. I would like, on this occasion, to thank the government of Niger for its willingness. This project, which is perhaps the country's first major initiative, has been a great success in Niger. It is considered a pilot project for Italian-Nigerian cooperation'. He went on to emphasise that 'the programme has made Italy an important partner for the State of Niger in the development of agriculture, the environment, the fight against desertification, and also education with the creation of some vocational schools'.
    The Commander of the Italian Bilateral Support Mission in Niger (Misin), Brigadier General Massimo Marceddu, noted that bilateral Italian-Niger cooperation was characterised by the provision of equipment and the construction of infrastructure.
    In this context, he recalled that the Misin trained 9,508 students and specified that the Italian mission offered the airbase 101,250 bulletproof vests and 250 ballistic helmets to improve the military's protection capacity for their space surveillance service.
    "Misin," he added, "is building Niger's aerospace medical skills centre at a total cost of over six billion CFA francs. The project,' he continued, 'envisages the construction of a hospital for the issuance and maintenance of certain medical needs of Niger's civilian and military pilots, which will provide a unique capacity in the entire Sahel.
    In order to extend cooperation with the State of Niger, the Italian mission intends to expand its activities through the implementation of various development projects in the country.
    It should be recalled that Italian cooperation intervenes in Niger in the environmental sectors, in particular the fight against desertification, education, health, food security and infrastructure