The aim of the Italy-Africa summit
underway in Rome is to present Italy's idea of development for
the African continent based on the Mattei Plan, Premier Giorgia
Meloni said on Sunday,
"The objective is to present to African countries our vision of
development for Africa, which is the basis of the Mattei Plan,"
Meloni told TG1 on the eve of a conference at the Senate with
the participation of 25 African leaders and representatives of
the European Union institutions, referring to the planned new
strategic partnership with African countries to address the root
causes of irregular migration and beat smuggling gangs, and
which also seeks to turn Italy into a sort of hub for energy
supplies from Africa to Europe as the continent tries to reduce
its dependency on Russian oil and gas supplies after Moscow's
invasion of Ukraine.
It is, said the premier, a "new approach: not predatory, not
paternalistic, but not charitable either".
Rather, the idea is to work together "as equals, to grow
together", she continued.
Meloni said Italy has "established priority subjects and pilot
countries in which to launch the first projects", adding that
"the benefits for Italy are countless".
"Everything that happens in Africa concerns us, from migration
to security and supply chains. For us, the proper development of
the African continent is fundamental," she insisted.
On migration, Meloni said that "the European approach has
completely changed". "When we arrived in government the
discussion was only about how to redistribute irregular
migrants; today the discussion is only about how to defend the
external borders, and this is our merit," she continued.
"I think the approach we have taken with Tunisia is the right
one; we are starting to see the initial results, but it is a
huge task that has to be performed day by day, and we must not
let up." said Meloni, referring to the memorandum brokered by
Italy and signed by the EU and Tunisia in mid-July to promote
cooperation and financial assistance in the areas of
macro-economic stability, trade and investment, green energy
transition, people-to people contacts, and migration, with a
view to halting the irregular flows.
"What we have done in Tunisia must be replicated with other
nations and we are working on it," she added.
Overall Italy saw a 50% rise in arrivals of migrants and
refugees by sea from north Africa in 2023 compared to the
previous year, although after the summer the numbers began to
let up.
The Italy-Africa summit opened on Sunday evening with an
official dinner hosted by the President Sergio Mattarella at the
Quirinale Palace in Rome.
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