Italy expresses support for Somali peace talks

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Alfred Mantica affirmed here Friday that the European country was willing to provide technical, material and financial support to the ongoing Somali peace talks in Nairobi.
Mantica expressed satisfaction with the new management team of the reconciliation conference and with the work accomplished so far, despite major difficulties.
"Italy is committed to processes geared towards achieving peace in Somalia to alleviate the sufferings of the Somali people," the minister stressed.
Mantica was speaking in Nairobi where he held talks with Kenya's special envoy to Somalia, Ambassador Bethuel Kiplagat, who is also moderating the talks.
Kiplagat said that in a bid to streamline the administrative and financial management of the talks for greater transparency and accountability, a project management unit had been established with the assistance of the European Union.
He enjoined the African Union to take a more active role in monitoring the progress of a newly established committee tasked with following up implementation of a cease-fire declaration.
Mantica, who Friday wound up an official visit to Kenya, met top government officials during his three-day stay.
He also held talks with Sudanese government officials and delegates from the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement and Army (SPLM/A).
Like the Somalis, the Sudanese stakeholders are also holding peace talks in Kenya under the aegis of the Intergovernmental Agency for Development (IGAD).