Premier Giorgia Meloni chaired a high-level summit in Rome on Friday to promote Italy’s Mattei Plan for Africa. It aims to tackle the root causes of illegal migration and foster long-term development on the continent.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen co-chaired the meeting at Villa Doria Pamphilj, titled “The Mattei Plan for Africa and the Global Gateway: A Common Effort with the African Continent.”
Leaders from the African Union, Angola, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania attended. Alongisde them were with heads of major financial institutions, including the IMF, World Bank, African Development Bank, and Africa Finance Corporation.
“Today’s summit represents a fundamental step in the internationalisation of the Mattei Plan,” Meloni said in her opening speech. “By strengthening Africa, we strengthen Europe.”
The Mattei Plan, launched by Italy in early 2023, focuses on energy, infrastructure, agriculture, and skills development to support African growth and reduce the drivers of irregular migration.
Meloni emphasised that the plan is not about imposing solutions. “These are not initiatives imposed from above,” she said, “but concrete projects born from dialogue and the desire to create lasting development.”
Initiatives include Lobito Corridor
Key initiatives discussed at the summit included the Lobito Corridor rail project, which will link the Atlantic and Indian Oceans across southern Africa. Also on the table was Sparkle’s Blue & Raman digital cable connecting Africa to Europe. The plan also promotes AI for sustainable development and support for local agriculture, such as investment in coffee processing.
Von der Leyen highlighted the EU’s broader commitment through the Global Gateway, which has earmarked €150 billion for Africa.
Meloni praised the evolving partnership between Europe and Africa, saying it marks a “change of method” built on “respect, responsibility and vision.” She also stressed that the approach creates opportunities not only for African partners but also for Italian and European businesses.
“Eighteen months after the Italy-Africa summit that launched our G7 presidency,” Meloni said, “we are now seeing concrete and significant results.”
