Saqr Nasser Al Raisi, the UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Italy, has participated in a high-level forum to discuss development co-operation within the European Union (EU).

The forum was entitled, 'Sixty years and beyond: Contributing to development cooperation'.

The conference was opened with remarks by Angelino Alfano, Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and by Neven Mimica, EU Commissioner for International Development and Cooperation.

The conference, which was moderated by Pietro Sebastiani, Italian Foreign Ministry’s Director-General for Development Cooperation, mentioned the numerous contributions made by personalities in the international political panorama, including Marcel Amon Tanoh, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Cote d’Ivoire, Jean-Marie Le Guen, French Minister of State for Development and Francophonie, Zanda Kalnina-Lukasevica, Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia, Italian politician Emma Bonino and more than 50 ambassadors accredited by Italy.

The conference shed light on the important role played by the European Union in the last 60 years in supporting stability and peace in the world, developing relations between countries, and the technical, financial and humanitarian assistance provided by the member countries to other nations that have experienced political, military and humanitarian crises.