On 07 May, Operation ATALANTA Operation Commander, Vice Admiral Ignacio Villanueva Serrano visited the World Food Programme (WFP) Headquarters in Rome, where he met WFP Assistant Executive Director for Programme Operations, Mrs. Valerie Guarnieri. With the collaboration extended to 2027, the aim of the meeting was to reinforce this cooperation, based on common objectives, and identify ways to improve operational support to WFP as it delivers lifesaving humanitarian aid to Somalia.
At a time of escalating humanitarian needs and threats to maritime security, one of Operation ATALANTA core tasks is to provide secure passage to WFP vessels as they carry critical assistance to communities in need.
A productive meeting to continue working on the common ground developed throughout the 16 years that Operation ATALANTA has been active.
ATALANTA and the World Food Programme
Since its inception, Operation ATALANTA has supported the delivery of more than 3.2 million tonnes of assistance to communities across Africa/East Africa Somalia with 2,481 WFP vessels protected.