Foreign minister Antonio Tajani and United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres were due in Brindisi, southern Italy Thursday for the 30th anniversary of the UN Global Service Centre, a fulcrum for the world body's peacekeeping and humanitarian operations.
"We are proud to host the heart of logistics for UN peacekeeping operations in Brindisi. This is also where humanitarian aid collected through the Food for Gaza initiative, which I launched in March to bring concrete help to the Palestinian population, is stored and will then be shipped," Tajani said in a statement ahead of the event.
"Food for Gaza a cooperative effort involving the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and numerous Italian players," Tajani went on.
"The goal is to ensure the prompt delivery of non-perishable food and sanitary equipment to the Gaza Strip," Tajani said.
An initial shipment of 24 tonnes of humanitarian for the Palestinian population aid left Italy on 3 June, Tajani recalled.
A flight to Brazil took off from the Brindisi hub on 29 May with emergency aid on board for the flood-hit state of Rio Grande do Sul, the statement said.
Puglia governor Michele Emiliano, Brindisi's mayor Giuseppe Marchionna and UNGSC director Giovanna Ceglie were set to attend Thursday's ceremony, according to the statement.
Brindisi hosts both the UNGSC, located at the military section of the city's airport, and WFP's United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD), the statement noted.
UNHRD is part of an international network of depots sited in different parts of the world including Dubai, Accra, Panama and Kuala Lumpur. Located in a former US air base, San Vito dei Normanni, UNHCRD is a key partner for Italy's overseas aid department, which covers the depot's operating costs and keeps all its stocks of humanitarian goods there.
Brindisi coastal location in southeast Italy offers a strategic location between the Adriatic and the Mediterranean, allowing a rapid response to emergencies and support for UN operations in crisis areas in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the statement concluded.
