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Ailyn Agonia
DOHA
THE Italian Embassy in Qatar has officially become part of the programme of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to have a “green” network of embassies and consulates around the world following its signing of a partnership declaration with a Qatari paper manufacturing company that promotes paper recycling.
The agreement was signed by Italian Ambassador to Qatar HE Pasquale Salzano and Elite Paper Recycling (EPR) Chairman Abdulla al Suwaidi on the embassy premises on Monday. The signing coincides with Global Recycling Day, an initiative that aims to promote recycling across the globe.
“I am very proud to start a partnership on public diplomacy to support environmental sustainability. We want to demonstrate that recycling is not an obstacle to an efficient management of workflow. In fact, the adoption and implementation of high sustainability standards make the workplace well-functioning and productive. The attention to these aspects represents an added value in terms of employees’ wellbeing and positively impacts social developments,” Salzano said.
The agreement will promote regular recycling of wastepaper at the embassy to enhance responsible behaviour and implement environmentally-friendly procedures in its daily activities. Similarly, the initiative further reiterates the commitment of the embassy of externally promoting paper recycling and raising public awareness on environmental issues through specific initiatives, media campaigns, educational programmes and cultural events.
“The cultural programme of the embassy has paid special attention to environmental sustainability. Last October, we organised ‘The Shapes of Water’ exhibition related to different uses of water in the framework of the Qatar Sustainability Week. This coming Wednesday, on the occasion of the Italian Design Day in the World, we will hold a panel discussion in the fields of sustainable design, innovative technologies and ‘smart cities’ to encourage the debate on how to ensure a proper quality life for next generations,” Salzano added.
The official also stressed that through the new partnership they intend to send a powerful message on the importance of caring for the environment and showing support to the growing initiatives in Qatar geared towards preserving the environment and natural resources.
He praised local establishments that are using of recycled materials. The official said aside from gradually reducing the embassy’s paper use, they are also aiming to be paperless in the future to further their advocacy of becoming one of the green embassies in Qatar.
Meanwhile, EPR Chairman al Suwaidi said aside from Italian Embassy they have also partnered with more than 250 schools, major supermarkets, ministries, banks and other embassies including American, French and Swiss embassies on recycling initiatives.
“My main goal is to care for the new generation, so we have to teach them on the importance of recycling and environmental care from a young age,” Suwaidi said.
In terms of paper products produced by EPR, Suwaidi said his company is currently producing 3,000 tonnes per month with 80 percent of their products exported to many countries in Asia including Oman, Kuwait, Sri Lanka and China. He also mentioned a plan to export their products to Italy.
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19/03/2019
1254