The Director holds meeting in Rome, 21st April 2016

Oliver McTernan travelled to Rome on the 21st April hold meetings with senior members of the Italian Foreign Ministry. Discussions focused on the current situation in Israel-Palestine, as well as the wider challenges confronting the MENA region. Oliver also provided a briefing on the work of Forward Thinking and the forthcoming activities of the Helsinki Policy Forum.While in Rome, Oliver also met with representatives of the Order of Malta, in order to discuss the current crisis in Libya and Europe's response. Italy has already received over 10,000 refugees in 2016 and concerns are emerging that a growing number of refugees will again begin attempting the hazardous journey across the Mediterranean,  departing from Libya as the weather improves and as the Balkan route is increasingly tightly controlled.