Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has launched the Italy-Africa summit aimed at unveiling projects of her ambitious plan to reset the relationships between Europe and the African continent, curbing illegal migration flows and turning Italy into a hub of energy supplies from Africa to Europe.
In her opening speech, she cited as examples pilot renewable energy projects from Morocco to Ethiopia and Kenya, adding that they could be replicated in all African countries that will express interest into these new forms of investments.
The initial resources available to finance the plan total $5.95 billion, including credits and cooperation funds, the Italian premier said on Monday, sparking skepticism over the limited financial firepower.
Meloni stressed that the Mattei Plan will be based on “a new approach: not predatory, not paternalistic, but not charitable either," and that it will start a new page in the relationships between Europe and the African countries, with economic and strategic partnerships among "equals."
Controversial agreements
Over the past few months, the Meloni government – which has made stopping illegal migration to Italian shores one of its top priorities – had only revealed six macro areas in which its development plan for Africa would focus: education, food, water, agriculture, energy and infrastructure.
In the past year in government, however, she also sealed controversial bilateral agreements with single countries, such as Tunisia and Albania, aimed at discouraging departures of migrants from North Africa and creating structures to process asylum applications outside the Italian ter ritory.
Opposition parties and African organizations on Monday held protests and organized a sort of counter-summit outside the Italian lower house to express their doubts over the real contents of the Mattei Plan.
Exploiting resources
According to them, despite the government's slogans, it is inspired by a “neocolonial” approach that will end up exploiting Africa's massive natural resources, without introducing new forms of development.
Open criticism to Meloni's approach also came from one of the first African speakers at the summit, African Union Commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat, who stressed that African countries would have liked to be consulted before Italy unveiled its plan for Africa.
“We need to pass from words to actions,” Faki told the summit. “We cannot be happy with promises that are never maintained.”
“This is not a closed box that we are imposing from above,” Meloni said. “It ’s a plan of concrete and feasible objectives that will be achieved step by step.”
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