In Naples – at the Congress Center of the Maritime Station – the work of the Forum of the Functions of the Mediterranean Coast Guard (MedCGFF) took place from 29 September to 1 October, an initiative promoted by the General Command of the Corps of Port Authorities – Coast Guard with the support of the Maritime Directorate of Campania, on behalf of the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) of the European Commission which also co-financed the project.
The important international forum was promoted in conjunction with the Naples Shipping Week scheduled – also in Naples – from 26 September to 1 October 2022; a plan of cultural events open to the entire Italian and international shipping community, dedicated to the “culture of the sea” with the contribution of speakers from the business, scientific and academic world.
The aim of the Mediterranean Coast Guard Function Forum – chaired in the previous edition by France and Morocco – is to facilitate cooperation on a wide range of topics such as maritime transport safety, protection of the marine environment, seeking solutions to problems common to the 24 participating countries, sharing expertise and best practices.
The MedCGFF, born from an initiative promoted by the Italian Coast Guard in 2009 in Genoa, represents, even today, an important opportunity to strengthen cooperation between all the international agencies operating in the Mediterranean Sea through the sharing of experiences and practices useful to face the changes affecting the maritime sector; a moment of dialogue for all the representatives of those Institutions and Agencies with competences related to Coast Guard functions within the Mediterranean basin (EU and non-EU countries).
To open the work, which was also attended by representatives of 15 international organizations, the Commander General of the Italian Coast Guard, Admiral Chief Inspector Nicola Carlone: “In one of the maritime cities par excellence, we launch a model of interaction and multilateral comparison such as the MedForum, which brings together Mediterranean countries and international organizations, even non-Mediterranean countries. The success of the participation testifies to the vitality of a formula chosen 13 years ago, to promote a platform for dialogue between organizations that perform Coast Guard functions. Today a choice that we support with deep conviction, with the essential support of the Ministry of Sustainable Infrastructure and Mobility and with the important support of the European Agencies.”
Admiral Carlone concluded his speech by underlining the role of the Italian Coast Guard as a reference point on the international scene for the operational and training areas concerning the functions of the coast guard.
“In the last 19 months, the Italian Government – said the Minister of Sustainable Infrastructure and Mobility, Prof. Enrico Giovannini – has put in the foreground the role of the Mediterranean, the maritime sector, the economy of the sea, also strengthening the Italian Coast Guard, an organization made up of men and women that I have had the opportunity to appreciate. We have made the Coast Guard even more efficient, investing in means and infrastructure, with a view to decades. ” The opening of the works was attended, bringing their institutional greeting: Admiral Aurelio De Carolis, Commander-in-Chief of the naval team, representing the Chief of Staff of the Navy, Admiral Enrico Credendino; Dr. Paolo Mancuso, Councillor for the Environment and the Sea of the Municipality of Naples, representing the Mayor and Christos Economou of the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) of the European Commission.
Moored on the quay near the maritime station of the port of Naples also the main ship “Ubaldo Diciotti” that in the days of the Forum had the opportunity to host the various representatives of the countries and international organizations intervened.