The Director of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), Marco Riccardo Rusconi, participated in the Development Cooperation Forum 2025, held on March 12-13 at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
During his intervention in the panel “Improving modalities to better respond to evolving needs, vulnerabilities, and priorities”, Rusconi outlined the Mattei Plan, the Italian strategy that places Africa at the core of development cooperation policies through an integrated and innovative approach. “Through the diversification of financial sources, multi-stakeholder partnerships, and locally driven development, the Italian Cooperation system aims to foster investments in key sustainable development sectors, supporting the economic transformation of partner countries and attracting private capital. In this framework, the role of the European Union is crucial, as it has the capacity to catalyze and coordinate diverse donor approaches, ensuring greater coherence and impact,” stated the AICS Director.
The Development Cooperation Forum, this year dedicated to the theme “Transforming international development cooperation: from global dialogue to action”, serves as a key platform for redefining the international cooperation system and strengthening strategies to address growing global challenges. In preparation for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4), scheduled to take place in Seville, Spain, from June 30 to July 3, 2025, the Forum gathered recommendations and perspectives on reforming the development cooperation architecture, in light of the emergence of new actors and financial instruments.
