The Italian Ambassador to Ukraine Carlo Formosa carried out a mission to Odessa, the city over which Italy has assumed patronage for reconstruction. Taking part in the Odesa Economic Revival Forum, the ambassador illustrated the Italian interventions planned in the region, for which our country has allocated 45 million euros, and recalled the strategic importance of the city for international investments.
During the talks with the local authorities, the mayor Gennady Trukhanov and the governor Oleh Kiper, the projects in favour of the cultural heritage damaged by the Russian attacks and the city's urban planning, as well as the development of health facilities, were discussed; the opportunities for Italian companies in the energy and local agriculture sectors were also discussed. Ambassador Formosa then visited the restoration site of the Cathedral of the Transfiguration, damaged after a Russian bombing, for which Italy has pledged 500,000 euro through Unesco, and discussed it with His Eminence Agafangel, Metropolitan of Odessa and Izmail.
The ambassador could not fail to greet the Italian humanitarian workers in Odessa, engaged in numerous projects financed by the Italian Cooperation: the new Caritas-Spes Centre of the local Catholic diocese for the rehabilitation of war trauma victims, in collaboration with the Pope John XXIII Association, and the joint initiatives with Focsiv, Missione Calcutta, and numerous Ukrainian Greek Catholic dioceses.
The mission, to which the Italian Honorary Consulate on site also contributed, ended with a visit to the Odessa Opera House, a world-famous institution, where two Puccini operas will soon be staged in cooperation with the Italian Cultural Institute.
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