The government wants to be "a reference point" for Africa and the Middle East and views development aid as "strategic" tool to boost Italy's impact in a complex period of world history, foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday.
"We must have a strategic vision that includes overseas aid, which is an integral part of our country's foreign policy," Tajani told a National Council for Development Cooperation at the foreign ministry.
"We are facing two wars, it's a complex time but we want to be reference points, particularly in Africa and in the Middle East," Tajani said.
Referring to the devastating Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Tajani recalled that Italy's Vulcano hospital ship is operating off the coast of the besieged Palestinian enclave.
"We hope to also build a field hospital in the Gaza Strip," Tajani said.
