The Grand Chancellor of the Sovereign Order of Malta Albrecht Boeselager was received yesterday by the Italian Foreign Minister, Paolo Gentiloni.

During the talks the mutual satisfaction for the activities and initiatives developed together was stressed. Particular attention was paid to the programmes for rescuing and assisting migrants in the Mediterranean and to the presence of the Order of Malta’s medical teams – doctors, nurses and rescuers – on the Customs Police and Coastguards’ vessels.

The Grand Chancellor also illustrated the aid programmes the Order of Malta is running in numerous European countries, offering legal and social support to asylum seekers as well as health and social care.

Minister Paolo Gentiloni described the Italian policies and decisions recently taken at European level on the delicate topic of immigration. The Grand Chancellor declared that the Order of Malta is prepared to continue its own humanitarian efforts on the basis of the decisions that will be taken at a European and Italian level.

The respective ambassadors, Giulio di Lorenzo Badia for the Sovereign Order of Malta and Daniele Mancini for the Italian Republic, participated in the talks.

The Grand Chancellor was later able to visit the Foreign Ministry’s Crisis Unit that has the task of assisting Italians and protecting Italian interests abroad in emergency situations such as natural disasters, terrorism or political instability.