Italy's defence minister Elisabetta Trenta and deputy foreign minister Emanuela Del Re have ended a two-day visit to the strategically located country of Djibouti that aimed to bolster bilateral cooperation, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Trenta and Del Re had "fruitful" talks with Djibouti's foreign minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf and defence minister Hassan Omar Mohamed Bourhan during their trip that reaffirmed the two countries’ interest in further reinforcing ties, the statement said
The meetings also examined Del Re's proposal to set up a bilateral military and civilian personnel centre of excellence for Horn of Africa countries that would focus on issues including security and the management of migration flows, said the statement.
“Italy believes in a holistic cooperation development strategy, in which security plays a key role,” Del Re stated.
The planned centre - a joint initiative between Italy's foreign and defence ministries - could help foster "ever-closer synergies between security and development policy", she said.
Italy and Djibouti hope to soon sign a defence cooperation and a technical accord on military personnel, according to the statement.
During their visit on Tuesday and Wednesday, Trenta and Del Re also took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 'Parco Roma' which has been built in the city of Djibouti.
Del Re also attended the closing ceremony of the first year of a training course for Djibouti’s coastguard organised at the Djibouti Base by the Italian Navy’s San Marco Marine Brigade, the statement concluded.
