UNIFIL: the Italian contingent and the Country System

(To Greater Defense)
28/10/19

In recent days, as part of the Civil and Military Cooperation projects (CIMIC), the Italian Contingent of the UNIFIL mission, currently based on the Aosta brigade, was the promoter of the meeting initiative between the Municipality of Tiro and the Metropolitan City of Messina , with the aim of creating synergies between companies, public institutions and research bodies for technology transfer and cooperation activities in the agro-food sector.

The Italian peacekeepers, in accordance with the Resolution 1701 of the Security Council of the United Nations which gives a mandate to support the Lebanese population, have started working for some months on the formalization of mutual exchanges of interests between the Sicilian business world and the Lebanese counterpart, with the primary purpose of creating new opportunities for development, growth and well-being for the population of South Lebanon.

For this reason, thanks to the direction of the Embassy of Italy in Lebanon and to the Representative Office in Beirut of the Italian Trade Agency, Mayor Hassan Dbouk and the representatives of the Municipality of Tire met at the base of Shama, seat of the Italian Contingent commanded by Brigadier General Bruno Pisciotta, the delegation of the Municipality of Messina led by Deputy Mayor Salvatore Mondello and composed of some entrepreneurs in the agri-food sector of the province of Messina, to sign the Framework Agreement for Cooperation between the two municipalities.

This agreement will allow the start of commercial exchanges between the parties, inspired by the objectives of sustainable growth, defined in the European Union Framework Program for research and innovation. The first concrete action that will arise from the aforementioned agreement, developed with the support of the Contingent, will be the establishment of a joint-venture, registered in the Municipality of Tire, which will have as its final objective that of coordinating the flows of Sicilian agricultural products destined for the Lebanese markets. and from the East and the Lebanese to the European intra-community market. This Hub will provide commercial, logistical, administrative and regulatory support to the initiative.

The project, as a whole, is configured as a concrete example of synergy for the promotion of the Country System, in which the contingent in the operational theater creates the conditions for the development of the area of ​​interest, also through the adoption of economic initiatives. commercial. The military contingents, in coordination with the national local administrations, will become implementing bodies in support of national companies, with the main objective of creating a stable and lasting collaboration between companies, public institutions and research bodies for technology transfer and cooperation activities in areas of use. In fact, thanks to the credit obtained so far in their area of ​​operations, it was possible for the Italian Blue Helmets to facilitate this important civil and military cooperation initiative, strongly requested by the local authorities of southern Lebanon.

Moreover, in the coming weeks the University of Messina and the University of Lebanon, supported by the Aosta Brigade, will formalize an agreement in the specific areas of relevance that will be inserted in the field of collaboration between the two cities of the Mediterranean.