GCC students visit UN’s FAO, Italy’s civil protection dept

ROME: On the fourth day of a journey to Italy, a Gulf student delegation has visited the headquarters of the UN and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, and the Italian Civil Protection Department. The Italian tour is part of the “Youth Ambassadors of the Gulf” initiative. During the FAO visit on Thursday, the students were accompanied by Kuwait’s Ambassador to Italy Sheikh Ali Al-Khaled Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and the Qatari Ambassador Abdulaziz Ahmed Almalki Aljehni.

The delegation was welcomed by head of the FAO Director General’s Office Mario Lubetkina who stressed that the GCC is a major partner of the organization. The students also took part in a discussion with some of the FAO officials on the role of the major international organization. Lubetkina referred to the cooperation between the FAO and the GCC, saying that the organization offers the bloc’s member states technical assistance and consultations on various issues. On his part, the Kuwaiti envoy Sheikh Ali Al-Khaled urged the Gulf youth to get involved in the work and training programs between the FAO and the GCC to gain more expertise and skills.

During the visit to the Civil Protection Department the delegation was briefed by officials there on the nature and the role of authority established in 1982 for mustering national resources to offer assistance in grave emergency situations like earthquakes. They also visited the central strategic operating theaters at the department. In addition, the delegation visited the Islamic Cultural Center and mosque where they met with some Italian Muslim youth, and participated in an open dialogue with Imam Dr Salah AlSayed from Al-Azhar.— KUNA