Blinken met Italian President Sergio Mattarella

[RufaidaKhatun]

Blinken met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on June 28, where they discussed the importance of tackling human trafficking, protecting human rights and tackling the climate crisis. They also discussed China and the humanitarian crises in Lebanon, Syria, Venezuela and the Tigray region of Ethiopia.

Blinken also met with the Secretary of State for the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the Secretary for State Relations, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, in Vatican City. There, they discussed how to tackle the root causes of migration and expand the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.



Italy
and Prime Minister Mario Draghi to reaffirm their countries’ long-standing economic ties and their commitment to the NATO alliance.

In Rome, Blinken co-organized a Syrian ministerial with his Italian counterpart. He reiterated the imperative of ensuring that life-saving humanitarian aid reaches all Syrians in need and stressed the importance of re-authorizing and expanding the capacity of the United Nations to provide this vital assistance to the Syrian people through – beyond borders. He also job function email database announced more than $ 436 million in additional humanitarian assistance to vulnerable Syrians both in Syria and in neighboring countries hosting them.

On June 28, Blinken and Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio organized a meeting of foreign ministers with the 83-member Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. During the meeting, they discussed ways to keep pressure on ISIS remnants in Iraq and Syria, and to counter ISIS networks elsewhere, including in Africa. They also assessed the priorities of the coalition’s lines of action related to stabilization, foreign terrorist fighters, financing of the fight against ISIS and counter-messaging efforts.