Statement by Undersecretary of State Luigi Sbarra, in charge of the portfolio regarding southern Italy

I wish to thank the President of the Council of Ministers, Giorgia Meloni, for the trust placed in me and for this important recognition. It is an honour for me to serve the institutions; I will be fully committed to helping strengthen the processes of growth, development, cohesion and employment in the Mezzogiorno.

In recent years, thanks to the actions taken by the Meloni Government, southern Italy has seen significant signs of economic, social and employment recovery. It is now crucial to consolidate this trajectory, bridging historical gaps and making the most of the opportunities available, starting with NRRP resources, the cohesion agreements signed with all southern Italian regions and implementation of the Single SEZ.

The priorities continue to be the relaunch of public and private investments and the strengthening of infrastructure, healthcare, SMEs, legality, and education and training. The Government has demonstrated its concrete commitment on these fronts, with the goal of making the Mezzogiorno a strategic area in terms of industry, energy and trade, projected into the Euro-Mediterranean context.

[Courtesy translation]