The Italian ambassador to Libya Giuseppe Perrone and defense attache Captain Patrizio Rapalino on Wednesday gave 5,000 hygiene and first aid kits to the mayor of the Libyan city Zuwarah. Libyan authorities had requested the material to be handed out to migrants.
The material was provided by the Italian Cooperation and transported by the Italian Navy on its ship 'Durand de La Penne' to the edge of Libyan waters. From there, the kits were transboarded onto the Libyan motorboat Kifa to be taken to the Tripoli port.
Delivery done upon Libyan authorities appeal
A ceremony in honor of the delivery was held at the Italian embassy in the presence of a large group of representatives from the Zuwarah administration. The same quantity of materials were on Tuesday provided to the Libyan Navy and Coast Guard.
In recent days, Libyan authorities had asked for these kits to be handed out to migrants intercepted within the country's search and rescue operations waters and then taken back to Libya. ''With this donation, the Italian Cooperation has responded to an appeal from the Libyan authorities. This is a gesture that confirms our country's humanitarian commitment at the international level,'' Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said, adding that ''I would also like to thank Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti for the important collaboration between the ministry she leads and the foreign ministry.''