Italy said in New York on Saturday that "the time has come for the international community and the United Nations to increase their commitment to two regional crises, " particularly with Somalia and in Pakistan.
"Somalia is the most serious and urgent situation on the African continent today," Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said at the annual general debate of the 65th session of the UN General Assembly, which entered its third day here Saturday, Xinhua reported.
Frattini noted that in the past two years, the Italian government has contributed "considerable financing" to the African Union Mission for Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali security forces.
"But this is not enough," he said. "International support for AMISOM must be stepped up."
With Pakistan, Frattini called for new trade measures to increase market access for Pakistani goods and to bolster Pakistan 's economic recovery.
"A natural disaster of this magnitude also demonstrates the urgent need to address the effects of climate change through collective and shared measures," he said.
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