Dakar - The regional headquarters of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) in Dakar recently pre-inaugurated its new offices, located in Fann Résidence, a historic district of the Senegalese capital. The event was attended by the Director of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), Marco Rusconi, the Ambassador of Italy in Dakar, H.E. Caterina Bertolini, the Director General of the Directorate General for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), Stefano Gatti, and the Head of the AICS office in Dakar, Marco Falcone. Also present were a delegation of senior officials from the Italian Cooperation system, staff from the Embassy and the AICS office in Dakar, and representatives of Italian civil society organizations in Senegal. The move to a larger and more functional office space responds to the need to strengthen the Agency, called upon to play an increased role with the recent Mattei Plan. Furthermore, the new headquarters aims to be a strengthened pillar of the Italian System in Senegal and an even more efficient reference point for cooperation entities, from NGOs to Universities, Local Authorities, and Public Administrations, as well as the private sector oriented towards development cooperation. The architectural design of the new headquarters, which revitalizes a residence in the Senegalese Capital, is inspired by volumes with large openings and views to the outside, with styles typical of Senegalese architecture from the 1970s, characterized by large windows symbolizing the transparency with which the headquarters and Italian Cooperation operate. It should be noted that the regional headquarters of AICS in Dakar is the center for programming, monitoring, and coordinating initiatives of interest to Senegal, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Sierra Leone, Gambia, and, more recently, Mauritania. Senegal is one of the strategically most important countries for Italian Cooperation and one of the main beneficiaries of Italian public development aid. For Senegal, the financial allocation of AICS Dakar has reached the amount of 191 million euros, divided among the bilateral channel (176 million), multilateral (3 million), delegated cooperation (12.5 million). (9colonne)