VALLETTA (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese government is currently in talks with a coalition of nations in the setting up of a maritime corridor through which humanitarian aid, specifically food, will reach the Palestinian population in Gaza through land.
The joint mission to open a maritime corridor involves the European Commission, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In a joint statement from the group nations and regional bodies, this initiative was described as “integral” to enabling the joint effort to launch a maritime corridor. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that this joint effort forms part of a US strategy aimed to “flood the zone” with humanitarian assistance. Blinken held a video conference with officials from Cyprus, Britain, the UAE, Qatar, the European Union and the United Nations to discuss getting the new route up and running. A spokesman for the Maltese Foreign Office said: “we are in touch with various countries, including the US, working towards the establishment of a maritime humanitarian corridor to understand how Malta can better contribute to such initiatives”. The spokesperson added: “Malta welcomes and will continue to contribute to all initiatives that aim to alleviate the humanitarian situation in Gaza by ensuring that food and health supplies arrive uninterrupted, rapidly, and peacefully as much as possible”.
The initiative builds on the model of the Amalthea Initiative, which is a Cyprus-led mechanism for the secure shipping of aid from Cyprus to Gaza via sea.
-photo Agenzia Fotogramma-
(ITALPRESS).