The Secretary-General of UNCTAD, Mr. Rubens Ricupero, will pay an official visit to Italy on 8 and 9 May at the invitation of the Government, to discuss future cooperation at the highest level. He will meet with the Prime Minister, Mr. Romano Prodi, and the Minister of Foreign Trade, Mr. Augusto Fantozzi, on 8 May and with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Lamberto Dini, on 9 May. In addition, he will have a private lunch with the President of the Republic, Mr. Oscar-Luigi Scalfaro on 8 May.
Over the years, Italy has shown unswerving support for UNCTAD, both for its analytical and practical work. During the latest quadrennial Conference (UNCTAD IX) held in South Africa from 27 April to 11 May 1996, as the then President of the European Union, Italy played a key role in shaping the new UNCTAD. Italy, a keen advocate of the evolving cooperation between UNCTAD and other Geneva-based organizations, has also backed UNCTAD publicly during earlier more difficult periods.
A recent indicator of Rome´s continued backing for UNCTAD was the Memorandum of Understanding signed on 12 April 1997 in Turin, under which the Italian Government will finance the implementation by UNCTAD of a new United Nations programme for staff management training (see press release TAD/INF/PR/9702). UNCTAD will be the pioneer of this training programme, which will be the next step in the far-reaching reform the organization is undergoing.
The Italian Government attaches high importance to UNCTAD´s efforts towards ensuring "a globalization process with a human face". The social aspects of globalization and liberalization have always been UNCTAD´s concern. Particular attention is being given to their impact on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) which was more forcefully acknowledged as a result of the Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Singapore.
In a statement delivered on the occasion of the meeting of the Joint Advisory Group on the International Trade Centre (ITC), held from 21-24 April in Geneva, Italy strongly expressed its appreciation at the establishment of what it called an emerging "golden triangle" (UNCTAD/WTO/ITC) - a model of successful reform and "renaissance" in the UN economic and social sector. Particular interest and support was expressed for the joint UNCTAD/WTO/ITC technical cooperation programme in support of Africa.
An important contributor to technical assistance
Italy has been the most important single bilateral donor to UNCTAD´s technical assistance projects for many years. A Letter of Understanding between the Italian Government and UNCTAD in 1989 established a Trust Fund to meet the costs of the projects financed by Italy and implemented by UNCTAD. Total contributions made since then amount to US$8.7 million.
Through this funding, Italy has actively supported UNCTAD´s pragmatic work on trade and environment, trade efficiency, debt management and enterprise development. For instance, it has supported the promotion of trade relations and economic cooperation in the Mediterranean region, contributed to the implementation of UNCTAD´s programme for customs reform and computerization (ASYCUDA) in African countries and to the establishment in developing countries of Trade Points, which help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) enter international business. The importance Italy attaches to SME development has also been made clear through its support for promoting joint ventures in developing countries.
