As part of the Italian government's humanitarian initiative "Food for Gaza" in support of the Palestinian civilian population in the Strip, a ceremony was held this morning in Larnaca to hand over to the Cypriot Customs Authorities the latest generation scanner made available by the Gioia Tauro Port Authority through coordination with the Customs and Monopolies Agency and the Civil Protection Department, which are actively participating in the Humanitarian Hub for Gaza in Cyprus.
The ceremony took place after the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, and his Cypriot counterpart, Constantinos Kombos, held a telephone meeting last Friday to emphasize the collaboration between Italy and Cyprus to alleviate suffering to the civil population in the Gaza strip, and guarantee peace and stability throughout the Mediterranean basin.
The handover saw the presence of the Cyprus Customs Authority Director-General, Theodora Demetriou, the Ambassador of Italy in Nicosia, Federica Ferrari Bravo, and the Italian Customs Agency International Relations Director, Andrea Mazzella, and Administration and Finance Director, Roberto Chiara, as well as representative of the Italian Protection Department.
The arrival of the scanner aims at making a tangible contribution to tackle the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza strip, as part of the Italian government’s humanitarian initiative “Food for Gaza”, launched by Minister Tajani on 11 March to provide aid to the civilian population of Gaza by supplying emergency food and medical supplies and feed to support livestock. At the same time, the scanner adds to the smooth implementation of the Amalthea Project, led by Cyprus, to establish a maritime corridor for delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza via sea, with the sole purpose of increasing humanitarian assistance based on the 2720 mechanism of the United Nations. The mobile scanner will play a critical role to facilitate control, inspection and departure of humanitarian cargo transported from Cyprus by sea to Gaza.
The scanner, transported to Cyprus free of charge by the shipping company Grimaldi Lines, will enable checks on humanitarian products that will be sent through the "sea corridor" from Cyprus to Gaza. The Customs Agency's contribution also includes the dispatch of three teams of trainers who will assist the Cypriot authorities in setting up and operating the equipment. In Cyprus, once vetted according to security standards agreed with Israel, humanitarian aid destined for Gaza will be sent either to Ashdod or to the dock built by the US in cooperation with the UN Agencies involved.
World Food Program, the Fao, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the Italian Red Cross, and the Civil Defense are also part of the Food for Gaza initiative, as well as the Customs Agency and numerous other Italian entities.
The collaboration on the Gaza humanitarian crisis, as a consequence of the events that have affected the whole Region, is evidence of the ever-growing relationship that brings Italy and Cyprus together, as Mediterranean countries united by similar challenges and shared goals.