PH
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni revealed Italy’s ambitious development plan for Africa on Monday at a summit of the continent’s leaders, with the goal of reducing migration, diversifying energy supplies, and forging a new, non-predatory partnership between Europe and Africa.
Meloni declared the summit a success, and top European and United Nations officials said the Italian plan, which includes an initial investment of 5.5 billion euros ($5.95 billion), would supplement existing initiatives in Africa focusing on climate adaptation and clean energy development.
However, the African Union Commission was more cautious, informing the summit that African countries would have preferred to be contacted previously and did not want more meaningless assurances.
The government’s strategy, named after Enrico Mattei, the founder of the state-owned oil and gas giant Eni, aims to broaden collaboration with Africa beyond energy and represents a new attitude and method, according to Meloni.
When asked about the lack of consultation with African leaders during a closing news conference, Meloni admitted she may have “erred” by being too particular in detailing experimental projects in her introduction speech.
However, she stated that the summit presented African leaders with a preliminary description of Italy’s ideology, supported by actual examples, which will be implemented in a collaborative effort.
“The summit is fundamental for sharing not only the strategy but also, in short, the final definition of the project,” she went on to say.
The summit, the first major event of Italy’s Group of Seven leadership, brought together two dozen African leaders, top EU and United Nations officials, and representatives from international lending organizations in Rome.
Italy, which has been at the center of Europe’s migration debate for decades, has promoted its development plan as a means of creating jobs and opportunities in Africa while discouraging its young people from embarking on risky treks across the Mediterranean Sea.
The plan includes trial projects in education, healthcare, water, sanitation, agriculture, and energy infrastructure.
Meloni, Italy’s first hard-right leader since the end of WWII, has made migration control a top priority for her government.
But her first year in office saw a dramatic surge in the amount of individuals who arrived on Italy’s borders, with roughly 160,000 last year.
As the conference began, the International Organization for Migration revealed that about 100 people had perished or gone missing in the Mediterranean this year, more than doubling the number from the same period last year, which was the bloodiest since 2016.
