The much-awaited Africa summit is scheduled to take place in Italy on January 28 and 29, 2019. The event will bring over fifty delegations to the Italian capital, most of them from African nations, together with leaders of the EU and members of international organizations.
Italy’s strategy plan, which intends to examine the nation’s attitude to the African continent, will be presented at the conference.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has introduced a “non-predatory” approach to Africa, known as the “Mattei Plan”. The plan, named after Enrico Mattei, was advocated for by Italy in the 1950s to support North African governments in growing their economies and developing their natural resources.
Despite its ambitious goals, the plan, which is expected to cost around 3 million euros annually and last for four years, is far from comprehensive. Its primary objective is to improve energy cooperation with African countries, aid in health, education, and other sectors, but critics argue it lacks a clear strategy.
“We have all been waiting to find out more about the content of the plan. But as clarified by a government’s decree, the strategy will be outlined starting from this conference and in the weeks to come. We’d like the action plan to mainly focus on Africa’s needs and the needs of the states and the countries’civil societies. We’d also like to see the use of a “bottom up approach” meaning that nothing is being imposed from above. One positive aspect of the “Mattei pla” is its long-term vision – in other words we are not dealing with the single emergency like in the case of migrant arrivals but rather we are talking about a long term strategy,” shared Giampaolo Silvestri, Secretary General of the Fondazione AVSI.
With an anti-immigrant agenda when he took office in 2022, Meloni aims to establish Italy as a vital bridge connecting Africa and Europe.
“If we want to work on a strategy that brings African and European interests together, one example is energy, because Africa is potentially a huge energy producer and Europe has an energy supply problem,” Meloni said.
Italy’s Africa policy is crucial as 40% of its gas comes from African producers, and its involvement in the Sahel and North Africa has been careless in mitigating instability and foreign interference.
Despite 80% of irregular arrivals from northern African ports, Rome’s attempts at cooperation on migration have largely failed. As part of its G7 presidency, Italy aims to make African development a central theme to enhance its influence on a continent where global powers like China, Russia, and India have expanded their political sway.
Enrico Mattei viewed Africa as the emerging battleground between the East and West, but Russia and China’s Belt and Road Initiative have increased their involvement.
Italy’s failure to address its colonial past and fulfill moral responsibilities in former colonies exacerbates this sentiment. Achieving success in new initiatives between Italy and Africa requires a profound understanding of history and a keen awareness of how these efforts will be perceived, as presented by the European council on foreign relations.
According to Giovanni Carbone, head of the Africa Programme at the Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) in Milan, “Meloni is investing political capital in it mostly because of migration,” even if energy “may be the most relevant part” of the Mattei Plan.
Almost 158,000 migrant boats arrived in Italy in 2023, up from about 105,000 in 2022, despite Meloni’s pledge to halt their from North Africa.
As part of an EU project, Italy has been providing coastguard training to both Tunisia and Libya.
Additionally, the Mattei Plan seeks to address “push factors” and convince origin nations to sign readmission agreements for migrants who have been denied permission to remain in Italy.
In a nation known for its protracted political volatility, experts caution that the project needs to be designed for longevity.
Carbone questioned if the administration had the expertise or understanding of African development needed to make the plan work.
“Italy has a tradition of relatively close relations with Mediterranean countries such as Tunisia, Libya, partly Algeria and Egypt as well, but less so with sub-Saharan Africa, which should be at the heart of the Mattei Plan,” said Carbone.
“Italy has primarily small and medium-sized enterprises, for which it would be a big step to think about investing in what are perceived to be very remote and often problematic countries.”
From 2014 to 2016, former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi also explored sub-Saharan African markets, “but it proved very difficult,” Carbone continued.