Moavero, Saleh mull Italy-Eritrea relations, investments

 POLITICS

Bilateral ties and Italian investment in Eritrea's port sector were at the centre of talks in Rome Thursday between foreign minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi and his Eritrean counterpart Osman Saleh, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

During their meeting, the two ministers "took stock of progress" in bilateral relations, the statement said.

Saleh showed "strong interest" in Italian investments in Eritrea, especially in the port infrastructure sector, amid a rapid expansion of maritime links connecting the Mediterranean and East Asia via the Indian Ocean, the statement added.

During their meeting, Moavero and Saleh also discussed the Horn of Africa and "recent positive developments" in the region, according to the statement. Eritrea and its neighbour Ethiopia declared an end to a two-decades-long "state of war" in July last year

The civil rights situation in Eritrea, including the issue of rural dispensaries and hospitals was also on the discussion table during the meeting "as was the debate at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva", the statement went on.