Foreign minister Luigi Di Maio on Thursday called for a UN-brokered solution to Yemen's almost-seven-year-old civil war, underlining Italy's "deep concern" at the "grave" humanitarian consequences of the conflict.
During talks in Rome, Di Maio told his Yemeni counterpart Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak that the situation in Yemen "continues to cause deep concern due to the grave humanitarian repercussions caused by the conflict," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
"Minister Di Maio reiterated Italy’s firm support for the United Nations effort to seek a political-diplomatic solution, in the awareness that it is the only lasting way out of the conflict," the statement continued.
"Furthermore, in light of the regional dynamics that are part of the crisis, Italy's commitment to encouraging the serious and genuine commitment to peace of all state actors in the area," the statement said.
The conflict, seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, has been in military deadlock for years.
Maio met Bin Mubarak on the sidelines of Rome 2021 Med Dialogues Forum, the statement noted
Mubarak expressed Yemen's appreciation for Italy's humanitarian aid to the war-torn country and its donation of COVID-19 vaccines doses through the Covax global distribution programme, said the statement.
The two ministers also mulled developing cooperation between Italy and Yemen in the field of cultural heritage protection, starting with training for Yemeni government officials on combatting the trafficking of archaeological treasures, the statement concluded.
