Mediterranean Dialogues: Promoting peaceful coexistence in the Middle East

On November 25 and 26, the G7 Foreign Ministerial will take place in Fiuggi – Anagni. It will be the last in-person Foreign Ministers’ meeting organised by the Italian Presidency. The Ministerial will take place in conjunction with the Mediterranean Dialogues in Rome. It is no coincidence that these two events are taking place at the same time, given that the Mediterranean is at the centre of global foreign policy dynamics, today more than ever.

Promoting the stability in the Middle East has been an utmost priority of the Italian G7 Presidency. Last October, Prime Minister Meloni travelled to Jordan and Lebanon, while in my capacity as minister of foreign affairs I carried out a mission in Israel and Palestine. Our priorities are clear: Reach a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon; achieve the release of all hostages; facilitate access and delivery of humanitarian aid; avoid the widening of the conflict. Most importantly, we are fully engaged in promoting a credible political process for thelasting stabilityof the region based on the “two-state solution”.

We believe that no durable and credible political solution to the crisis in the Middle East can be achieved without the involvement of key actors in the region.In this spirit, partners from the Mediterranean and the Gulf, including Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, attended the G7 Apulia Summit. In addition, at the G7 Development Ministerial in Pescara, in October, I promoted a humanitarian conference attended by representatives from Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Further discussions will now take place at the next G7 Foreign Minister Meeting in Fiuggi-Anagni, where I have invited also colleagues from several Arab Countries to join. I hope that through our dialogue we will be able to identify solutions to relaunch the political process and to focus on concrete initiatives to alleviate the suffering of the victims of the conflict. 

In this regard, the “Food for Gaza” initiative that Italy launched in the past months has been a positive example of partnership between international organisations and the private and the public sectors to provide humanitarian assistance. Jordan was pivotal in supporting the Food for Gaza initiative and assisting in the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Strip. In particular, our collaboration with Jordan in this initiative –notably in the area of logistics -- allowed us to build a complex operation that started from the UNHRD hub in Italy and led our aid through Jordan to Gaza. Food for Gaza is a model we intend to enhance also in view of the reconstruction process -- and perhaps replicate in the future. 

In Fiuggi-Anagni and during the Mediterranean Dialogues in Rome, we will also devote a great deal of attention to the situation in the Red Sea, a crucial geopolitical area for our economies. Fifteen per cent of global trade in goods pass through the Red Sea. How tensions affect trade routes to the Mediterranean remaina central topic in our discussions, as at the G7 Trade Ministerial in Reggio Calabria. 

I trust that the G7 Foreign Ministerial in Fiuggi – Anagniwill help in fostering peace and stability in the wide Mediterranean area. Italy is ready to play itspart also in the future, especially in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, wherewe have been contributing over the past few years to regional security and stability through the presence of our UNIFIL military. 

The author is a current Italian minister of foreign affairs in the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.