But some UN observers feel that, all other things being equal, the US may prefer a bigger player over a smaller one. Size issues aside, Italy s case has many solid features. Italy is currently the fifth top contributor to the United Nations regular budget. It is also the third top contributor of troops to peace-keeping missions, with a total of 8,247 men deployed in the Balkans, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as on UN observer missions to different continents. Italy has also shown its commitment to the maintenance of international peace and security through a number of political initiatives.
Issues related to economic and social development are a high priority for Italy.
In this spirit, the Italian Parliament recently adopted a government sponsored bill to cancel the foreign debt of the poorest and most highly indebted developing countries. One of the primary beneficiaries of this policy is Africa, the main focus of Italy s development cooperation strategy. In this perspective, Italy has allocated funding to allow the least advanced countries to participate in the preparations for the Third United Nations Conference on the Poorest Countries in 2001. On a different front, Italy has actively promoted a greater awareness at the United Nations of the role played by the new information and communication technologies. This is one of the ideas behind the World Television Forum, the annual meeting of international media representatives entering its fifth edition this year.