The Commander in Chief of the Navy Fleet (CINCNAV) has hosted, in the presence of Defence Minister Elisabetta Trenta, the third session of the “Collective Defence” cycle, dedicated to the Navy. The focus was on deepening the Navy’s tasks, power, and future challenges
"We are presently following the development of the situation in Libya, with its already heavy toll in terms of civilian and military victims, with great concern. Our concern is due to both the presence in that country of many fellow-citizens, and the fear that the engagement that the International Community has been carrying out to this moment could be thwarted by ongoing events":
Minister Elisabetta Trenta opened her speech at the conference on Collective Defence - that has taken place today at CINCNAV, the Navy Fleet Headquarters- with a reflection on the situation in the North-African country.
"Today more than ever we hope that all NATO and EU Member Countries will take on their responsibilities not only as regards deepening the Libyan dossier, but in tackling all themes related to stability and security in the Mediterranean area", she added.
Then, she underscored the Italian engagement toward the Libyan institutions and civilian population, ranging from security to training the military, to cooperation in the field of medical services and humanitarian issues and initiatives to give momentum to the development of infrastructures and the economy.
"In the last few years – she said – Italy has succeeded, especially thanks to our Navy, in translating its engagement with Libya into concrete actions. Recently, Navy Ship Capri, which headquarters the Command of the Bilateral Assistance and Support Mission in Libya, has been operating in the port of Tripoli to provide support, upon request by the local authorities, to the Libyan Coast Guard and Navy".
A Mobile Training Team providing educational, training and technical and infrastructural support to the Libyan Security Forces is also deployed in Tripoli, while Task Force "Ippocrate" is deployed in Misrata with a field hospital. Our military contingent is made up of approximately 400 units.
Going back to the theme of the conference, the Minister underscored that the Navy is "…a valuable, indispensable component of our Armed Forces: in the first place, in the pursuit of its main institutional task, i.e. contributing to our National Defence and Maritime Security by its mere presence and by implementing surveillance and deterrence activities and projecting its capacities at sea and from the sea.. Our Navy vessels are perfectly integrated within the international missions aimed at ensuring an appropriate security level even in waters far away from our shores, to counter illegal migration and organized crime, and to control maritime traffic and goods. Let me recall the EUNAVFORMED-Sophia mission and Counter-Piracy Operation Atalanta, off the Horn of Africa".
All'evento odierno - moderato dal Sottosegretario alla Difesa, Angelo Tofalo - sono intervenuti, tra gli altri, il Sottosegretario Raffaele Volpi, il Capo di Stato Maggiore della Difesa, Generale Enzo Vecciarelli, il Capo di Stato Maggiore della Marina Militare, Ammiraglio Valter Girardelli, l'Ammiraglio Donato Marzano, Comandante in Capo della Squadra Navale.
Finally, Minister Trenta called for supporting the "Defence System": " It is our duty to support and pursue the reform process necessary to keep effective and efficient Armed Forces, always in line with our national defence requirements and with the final objective of safeguarding the priority interests of our Country. We must continue to ensure appropriate funding levels for our military and, in the first place, we must look at defence funding policies with an innovative approach, as an investment that the Country makes for its own good, to promote employment, research and development".
In his speech, Undersecretary of State for Defence Angelo Tofalo highlighted that the Navy servicemen and servicewomen often operate "…far away from their fellow-citizens, even if their work has undeniable effects for the security of us all".
He then dwelled upon the objective of the initiative, that will go on with events dedicated to the other Services: " The Collective Defence events, thanks to their intensive information action, intend to make the broader public aware of the professionalism and commitment of all our wonderful boys and girls".
