The Italian Prime Minister unveiled her plan during the Italy-Africa summit on Monday in Rome.
Giorgia Meloni unveiled Italy’s major development plan for Africa on Monday at a summit with the continent’s leaders, aimed at stemming the number of migrants and diversifying energy sources.
The Italian prime minister said the summit was a successful first step, with senior EU and UN officials saying the Italian plan, with an initial allocation of 5.5 billion euros, would complement initiatives already underway focused on on climate adaptation and the development of clean energy in Africa.
The chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, was more cautious, however, declaring at the summit that African countries would have liked to be consulted beforehand and that they did not want any more empty promises.
“We must move from words to action”declared Mr. Faki, former Prime Minister of Chad, during the summit. “You will understand that we cannot be satisfied with promises which are often not kept.”
Italy presents its development plan as a way to create jobs and opportunities in Africa and discourage its young people from undertaking dangerous migrations across the Mediterranean Sea. This plan includes pilot projects in areas such as education, healthcare, water, sanitation, agriculture and energy infrastructure.
Asked during the closing press conference about the lack of consultation with African leaders, Ms. Meloni acknowledged that she had perhaps made a mistake. “error” by describing the pilot projects too precisely in his introductory speech. However, she clarified that the summit had allowed African leaders to have a first overview of Italian philosophy, supported by concrete examples, which will be implemented within the framework of a shared partnership.
As the summit got underway, Italian lawmakers from the Green and opposition parties held a counter-conference in the lower house of the Italian Parliament to criticize the Mattei plan, which they see as a “empty box” neocolonial approach aimed at re-exploiting Africa’s natural resources.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed congratulated Italy for focusing on key pillars of the energy and food systems, saying they complement an approach already outlined by the African Union . But she lamented that, overall, the 2030 targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, approved at the global level, were “terribly inadequate”.
“I urge the Italian government to make these deep, effective and equal partnerships a reality, and to use its G7 presidency to work with other countries to do the same”she said.
Alongside the Mattei plan, Mr Meloni’s government has struck controversial deals with some countries to try to ease Italy’s migration burden. An EU-backed deal with Tunisia aims to reduce departures through economic development projects and legal immigration opportunities, while a bilateral deal with Albania plans to create centers there. country to process asylum requests from Italian migrants rescued at sea.