Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for a new partnership with Africa on Monday, unveiling a long-awaited plan aimed at curbing immigration from the continent by boosting economic ties and creating an energy hub for Europe.
Hosting a one-day Italy-Africa summit at the Italian Senate in Rome, Ms. Meloni outlined a series of initiatives, pledging an initial 5.5 billion euros ($5.95 billion) in loans, grants, and state guarantees.
Ms. Meloni said her government would also seek help from the private sector and international bodies such as the European Union.
Europe has to bolster industry and agriculture in Africa to strengthen local economies as a way of persuading disaffected young Africans from migrating north, Ms. Meloni pointed out.
Most departed from North African countries such as Tunisia and Libya, many fleeing poverty and conflict in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.
The Italy-Africa summit, attended by two dozen African leaders, top EU and U.N. officials, and representatives from international lending institutions, was the first major event of Italy’s Group of Seven (G7) presidency.
Mattei Plan
The plan, presented by Ms. Meloni, was named after the late Enrico Mattei, who founded the state oil company Eni.
“The Mattei Plan ... fits perfectly into our European Global Gateway worth 150 billion euros. This is our plan for Africa,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the summit, referring to an infrastructure project unveiled in 2021.
The plan also met with some criticism. Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the African Union Commission, who participated in the summit, said he wished Africa had been consulted first.
“I want to insist here on the need to move from words to actions. You can well understand that we can no longer be satisfied with mere promises that are often not kept,” Mr. Faki Mahamat said.
Ms. Meloni stressed that the plan seeks to expand the cooperation between Italy and Africa as cooperation of equals.
Energy
The initiative’s important part is energy and its infrastructure, with Italy looking to serve as a gateway into European markets. Natural gas from Africa has become vital after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, making diversification of supplies a priority for the EU.Eni, Italy’s largest natural gas importer, has already countered lower Russian supplies by shipping increased volumes from Africa, where it has had a presence for decades.
The company has said Algeria, Egypt, and Libya will be Italy’s main gas suppliers for the next few years.
Cooperation in the energy sector aims to make Italy “the natural energy supply hub for the whole of Europe” and to help “African nations that are interested in producing energy to meet their own needs and then exporting the excess to Europe,” Ms. Meloni said.
The goal is to satisfy “Africa’s need to develop [energy] production and generate wealth, and Europe’s need to ensure new energy supply routes,” she explained.
This requires, however, building new infrastructure to connect the two continents, Ms. Meloni said. Italy has been working with the European Union (EU) on electricity interconnection between Italy and Tunisia and “the new H2 South Corridor to transport hydrogen from North Africa to central Europe, passing through Italy,” she added.
H2 South Corridor is a hydrogen pipeline that connects North Africa, Italy, Austria, and Germany and will supply Europe with low-cost hydrogen produced with renewable energy like wind and solar.
Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), a nonprofit research and campaign group based in Brussels, criticized the EU’s push for hydrogen production, stating it will require vast land areas in Africa to produce green hydrogen and “can lead to the displacement of communities and human rights violation.”
The CEO said that sourcing hydrogen from African countries will exploit their renewable energy and water resources and harm these countries through hydrogen installation, calling it neocolonialism.
The CEO is funded by private foundations, trusts, and individuals, including the Open Society Foundations set up by George Soros, and rejects funding from EU institutions and corporations, according to its website.
Agriculture
The main goal of agriculture measures in the plan is the development of agri-food chains to reduce malnutrition with an emphasis on developing family farming and preserving forest heritage, according to the statement.Ms. Meloni emphasized the importance of developing agriculture in Africa as the continent has 60 percent of the world’s arable land, and that land is unfortunately often not used.”
Technology and research are essential to making African agriculture productive, Ms. Meloni said.
However, the goal of advancing agriculture is not only “food security” but also food safety and quality, Ms. Meloni pointed out.
“Research plays a crucial role in this,” she said, “but … I do not believe that research should be used to produce food in laboratories and perhaps move towards a world in which the rich can eat natural food and the poor can only afford synthetic food, with unpredictable effects on health.”
“This is not the world we want to build.”
Among agricultural initiatives, Ms. Meloni specified a project in Egypt that will invest in machinery, seeds, technology, new cultivation methods, and vocational training to develop an area of land for growing wheat, soy, corn, and sunflowers.
Voices of Opinion
As the summit progressed, Italian green and opposition lawmakers planned a counter-conference at Italy’s lower chamber of parliament to criticize the Mattei Plan as a neocolonial “empty box” that seeks to again exploit Africa’s natural resources.“Only 15 percent of targets are on track to be met by 2030,” she said.
“I urge the government of Italy to make such deep, effective, and equal partnerships [with African countries and institutions] a reality and to use its presidency of the G7 to work with other countries to do likewise,” Ms. Mohammed said.
