After having been widely announced and already converted into lawithe Meloni government has finally lifted the veil on so-called Mattei plan. That is, a development and cooperation project between Italy and African countries, presented during the Italy-Africa Conference organized in Rome by the executive, with 25 heads of government from the continent, 11 foreign ministers, representatives of the European Union, African Union and UN. Niger is greatly absentwhere in 2023 a Russian-backed coup resulted in the removal of France as a key player in the area and its replacement by Moscow.
As the name suggests, from that of founder of Eni Enrico Matteiil government plan wants to transform Italy at the key energy hub between the African continent and the European Union, especially in the gas field, after the cut in imports from Russia, following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The government has said it is ready to implement 5.5 billion euros in 4 yearswhich will serve to support “territorial strategies, referring to specific areas of the African continent”, as reported by document parliamentarian regarding the Mattei plan.
Among the sectors of collaboration listed are export and investment promotion, education, higher and professional training, research, health, agriculture, “sustainable exploitation of natural resourcesi, including water and energy”the protection of the environment, the strengthening of infrastructures including digital ones, the development of the energy partnership, support for businesses, tourism, culture and “the prevention and fight against irregular immigration and the management of legal migratory flows”.
The first projects
In his speech opening at the top Italy-Africa, the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, announced that education and training, health, agriculture and energy will be the priority sectors of intervention on which the plan will focus. In particular, Meloni mentioned the launch of some pilot projects in Morocco, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Mozambique, Egypt and the Republic of Congo.
It is respectively a “center of excellence for professional training on the topic of renewable energies”redevelopment of schools and water purification to create a training center foragri-foodimproved healthcare, a satellite agricultural monitoring project, an agri-food centre, investments in machinery and new technologies for agriculture and construction of water networks and wells powered by renewable energy.