Somalia is one of the priority countries for Italian Cooperation.
The multi-year initiatives funded by the Italian Cooperation in Somalia, through the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), cover multiple sectors by committing to promote the link between humanitarian response and development and by taking into account the Italian Cooperation Guidelines, as well as emergency response strategies and development plans for Somalia. Italy’s commitment has been able to carve out a broad and active role within the international community in Somalia and build solid relationships with local actors.
Somalia’s recent entry into the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund has opened up new prospects for the country’s development, reinforcing the commitment of the Italian Cooperation to focus more towards support in key areas such as strategic infrastructure for the reconstruction of the country and economic development, institution-building, agriculture, fisheries and livestock, development of the private sector. Particular efforts are also made in the stabilization process, in direct support of the Federal Government of Somalia for the immediate response to the essential needs of the population in newly liberated areas.
Due to the difficulties in directly carrying out project activities in the Somali territory for security reasons, over the years we have mainly relied on multilateral partnerships and bilaterally funded projects with the involvement of UN organizations and international financial institutions, promoting, when possible, collaboration with CSOs and Italian universities.
However, Somalia’s recent commitment to take the reins of its own development and the stabilisation of newly liberated areas, together with the HIPC Initiative, opens up new prospects for more direct and closer collaboration and engagement with Somalia towards a more equitable and sustainable development.