The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) is one of those that will coordinate a €25 million project for the six counties on the Kenyan coast.
It is a project that will start in 2020 and will last five years, as part of the "Go Blue" program of the European Union, which involves Italy, Portugal, Germany with UN Habitat and UN Environment.
The sectors concerned will be those related to the economy of the sea, but great importance will be given to vocational training and there will also be space and resources to participate in the protection of the environment, through studies of impact and sustainability and the historical and cultural heritage of the Kenyan coast.
In the division of tasks, Italy, through the AICS, will mainly provide institutional and logistical support to the six counties (Kilifi, Mombasa, Kwale, Taita Taveta, Tana and Lamu) and support and development of the sector chains, especially fisheries and aquaculture.
Obviously the whole project during its phases will facilitate contacts with Italian companies and promote their presence and possible investments in the territory. Portugal, also in consideration of its "roots" in this country, will have to deal with the historical side: the restoration works of Vasco Da Gama Pillar in Malindi will be part of the program.
In the meantime, the AICS has already involved the Agronomic Institute of Bari in a coastal development project in the six counties, in preparation for the European initiative.
The Cooperation will coordinate on-the-spot training of technicians from each of the counties for targeted projects. Young people and women's groups in particular will be trained and some of them will be hosted for 10 weeks in Italy for training.