Italian Ambassador to Sudan Talks to Sudan Vision Newspaper (2-2)

Link to web article here.

Italian-Sudanese relationships date back to hundreds of years, thousands if we consider Roman history. There are historical, political, economical, cultural and social ties between the peoples of Sudan and Italy. The role of Italy in supporting Sudan is very strong in terms of support to health, education and agriculture, mainly in Kassala, Port Sudan and Gedarif.

The history of Italy, the social structure, the global financial crisis and the relations between Italy and the Vatican alongside other European issues were discussed with the Italian ambassador to Sudan, H.E. Armando Barucco, in the following interview.

Q: Why does Italian development cooperation IDC focus on Eastern States, with no current ongoing programmes in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan?

A: You know that there are serious problems in terms of access to the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states. When it will be possible, we will also consider these areas. Actually we have some projects in some areas of Darfur with the U.N. agencies. We have just approved an emergency programme for Darfur. We concentrate on Eastern Sudan also because we have a historical presence in the area. We actually started working there since 2000, and then little by little we developed our activities, specializing in the health sector. Since 2010 we have financed projects in Eastern Sudan for more than 30 million Euros 

We also fund the work of Italian NGOs and UN agencies like W.F.P. We have an excellent relationship with W.F.P. and also with U.N.H.C.R., U.N.I.C.E.F., U.N.I.F.P.A. and I.O.M. To summarize, the choice of Eastern Sudan has been taken firstly because of our continued presence there. We know the area and we know the needs of the people. And secondly, we wanted to be more effective. Therefore we needed to concentrate our resources. As you know, we have three offices in Kassala, Gedarif and Port Sudan and we manage our activities in an integrated way. We are actually the only national cooperation agency working in the three states. 

The excellent results achieved through the Italian Cooperation’s bilateral programs in Eastern Sudan, especially in the health sector, are the main reason for the decision of the European Union to appoint Italy as the “implementing partner” for the E.U. programme (2014-2016) “Promoting Qualitative Health Services in Eastern Sudan – PQHS” for the rehabilitation of the health sector in Eastern Sudan with a total budget of 13.1 million Euros. 

About 1,8 million people will benefit from this programme: communities in urban and rural areas, with a special concern for the most vulnerable in remote villages, but also medical staff and front line providers; students and teachers of Academies of Health; managers and officers of Locality Health Administrations and State Ministries of Health. From its part, the Italian Government has decided to accompany the E.U. financing with further projects and initiatives in Eastern Sudan in 2014-2016. The total amount of these Italian initiatives should exceed 15 Million Euros (projects worth 5 Million Euros have already been approved for 2014). 

Q: Do you consider the Eastern state as a starting point, and will you later cover other states?
A: It will also depend on the financial resources available. Sudan is always one of our priorities in term of foreign policy. We consider that the stability of Sudan is crucial for the Horn of Africa. Sudan is a crossroads between the North of Africa and the rest of Africa, and between the East and West; we have always considered it as a key country. Therefore the stability of Sudan is our main priority. This has an impact on our policies and decisions regarding financial aid and cooperation development. Even in the worst moments of crisis the flow of Italian aid to Sudan stayed the same, nobody ever thought about reducing the funds for Sudan.

Q: Italy supports health and agriculture. What about cultural exchange?
A: I am very proud about what we have done to strengthen our political relationship or in the economic sector, and I am happy and proud about our work in the rehabilitation of the health sector in Eastern Sudan, which is a sort of flagship of the Italian cooperation.

As regard to cultural relations, in the last two years we did a lot in terms of scholarships and programmes at Italian universities. We support Sudanese students to attend M.A., PhD and other courses at private or public universities. There are several scholarships offered by several universities. Sudanese are very good students, for instance in the scientific curricula. There is an excellent cooperation with Abdussalam Centre in Trieste. 

The Italian government offers 20 scholarships to Sudanese students to study in Italy every year. In addition to this, we have a scholarship programme with Ahfad University in which we offer 15 scholarships to its students. Another very important sector is the collaboration between the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM) and other institutions in Italy. In 2013 an M.O.U. of cooperation in the field of restoration and preservation of archeological sites was signed by the National Corporation of Antiquities and Museums “NCAM” and the Italian Central Institute of Restoration in Rome “ISCR” (one of the most important and prestigious world institutions in the field of restoration) ) which led to a two week mission of a group of experts from ISCR and to a project within the framework of Qatar Sudan Archeological Project “QASAP” for the restoration of the Temple of Mutt at Jebel Barkal. 

We also have five ongoing archeological missions in the country. Lastly, the “Leonardo Da Vinci Library and Reading Room” was inaugurated last November in the premises of the Central Library of the University of Khartoum. The Centre consists of an Italian library and a technologically equipped classroom for the courses of Italian language for the students and the staff of the University of Khartoum and also for screening of classical Italian movies. Finally, for the first time in Sudan several concerts in classical music and opera were organized by us in 2013 and in 2014 with Italian renowned artists.

Q: What the differences between North and South of Italy? 
A: This is a very complicated question. Italian and European historians, anthropologists and politicians have tried to answer it for many decades. I am from the South of Italy, I was born in Naples. Though Italian culture has always been one of the leading cultures in Europe and in the World (just think about the Renaissance), until 1861 Italy was not a nation, it was divided into different states. Some parts of Italy were also under foreign domination. 

We fought three wars of independence in 1848, 1859/60 and 1866 for the unification of our Nation. To cut a long story short, the industrial system in Italy was concentrated mainly in the North. The economy of the South of Italy was based mainly on agriculture and so it suffered the ups and downs of this sector, as well as competition from the North. As I said, the unification of Italy was in 1861. This marks one of the key moments of the Industrial Revolution in Italy and Europe. 

Some sectors of the Italian economy were ready to compete on the European markets, while others were not. Some historians say that the unification of Italy was a disaster for the South of Italy: the early southern factories could not compete with the Italian factories of the North, and the same applied on a bigger scale for agriculture. Some historians say that actually the elites of the time devised a strategy to make sure that the companies in the North were more competitive. But this is just an opinion which shows how complicated and sensitive this subject is.

We should now focus on how to employ our resources to actually achieve good results respecting the diversity of our history and our traditions. We have to use this diversity as a resource to achieve our objective and reduce the gap between some areas of Southern Italy and the rest of the Country. And this concept applies very much also to Sudan.

Q: The relation between the Vatican and Italy, is it two countries in one country, or what?
A: I have no title to speak about that. I will just say that the Vatican is a sovereign state, geographically located in Italy.

Q: There is no Vatican army, how does it defend itself?
A: Yes, they have soldiers, but it does not need soldiers to defend itself. The real strength of the Vatican is its moral authority, which is even stronger than any army. Like many other religious leaders, the Pope’s speech is a message of peace, tolerance and solidarity all over the world. If you wish, you can say that the Vatican is one of the most “soft-powerful” country in the World.

Q: Can you brief us about Fascist era?
A: This is also a question that needs a three-day seminar to be addressed. The main issue to understand about Fascism is the fact that it was a wider phenomenon. There were Fascist movements in the UK, France, Spain, in most of Eastern European countries, and finally in Germany. For better or for worse, Italy has always been a sort of laboratory for European politics; things happen often in Italy before than in the rest of Europe. Fascism, Nazism, Communism and in general any totalitarian regime in the period between the two World Wars in Europe marked the shift from elite politics to mass politics. They were the (wrong) response to extraordinary changes in politics, economies and society.

Q: Have you any message to the Sudanese people?
A: I always consider myself as a friend to the Sudanese people, the people in the streets and in the villages which I have visited. What I have found in Sudan I had never found in any other country. Sudanese are very special people. They have qualities which are very rare in the World. Our work is very tiring and hard, as you witnessed during my last mission to Kassala and Gedarif. In the past three years I have been travelling for work to Eastern Sudan at least 7/8 times. We wanted the Sudanese people to feel that we are on their side and that we are working for them; and I believe that our message was understood and truly appreciated. Nothing gives us more satisfaction than the fact that our work is improving the well-being and lives of many Sudanese, and contributing to a better future for them and their kids.