The headquarters of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) in Tunis closed the month of October by signing four major partnership agreements for its co-operation in Tunisia. In particular – says Italian Cooperation – during a ceremony chaired by the Education Minister, Hatem Ben Salem, two funding agreements were signed to reaffirm Italy’s commitment together with the European Union for education and food quality for children in Tunisia.

A first funding of Unicef amounting to around 10 million euros – of which 4.6 from the Italian Cooperation and 5.5 from the EU – will allow a large program to improve the quality of primary education to ensure greater success opportunities for children from Tunisia.

Another 2.5 million euro agreement was signed between the Italian Cooperation and the WFP to fund a new initiative to promote school food system under the National Strategy for Sustainable School Food Supply.

The actions that will be implemented through these programs are aimed at strengthening the capacity of the education system, including pre-school education, school environments and pupils’ nutrition, and combating factors leading to failure and school dropout. So every student can learn and grow in an inclusive, safe and healthy environment.

For Italy the agreements were signed by Ambassador Raimondo De Cardona and the head of the AICS headquarters in Tunis Flavio Lovisolo.

In previous days, both attended a similar ceremony with the United Nations Migration Agency (IOM), with whom they had signed an agreement to implement the project “Migration as a resource: mobilizing the Tunisian diaspora and stabilizing the disadvantaged communities in Tunisia”.

The event was chaired by the Secretary of State for Migration and Tunisians Abroad, Adel Jarboui. This project aims to involve Tunisians living abroad, especially in Italy, in the development priorities identified in their regions of origin, as sponsors and investors in microprojects supported by local entrepreneurs. These are projects that mainly concern the disadvantaged and border areas of Tunisia. The project offers a new alternative to traditional sources of finance and promotes the search for business opportunities in the Italian market. With a total budget of € 2.9 million, the initiative aims to support the creation of 70 high-potential development microprojects and create 210 formal jobs in the Jendouba, Kef, Medenine and Tataouine regions.

Another agreement was signed between Italy and the UN Development Agency (UNDP) to support the electoral process, in particular for the upcoming municipal elections that will allow local administrators to be elected for the first time, as envisaged by the new constitution of the country. Through this agreement, Italy has given substance to its commitment to support Tunisia in the implementation of the decentralization process established by the new Constitution.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews