Meloni and Addis Abeba: "With the Mattei Plan we are revolutionizing the way we act in Africa"

A “compact between free nations who choose to work together because they trust each other”. It is not just an evocative formula, but the way in which Italy, through theMattei Plantries to carve out more and more the role ofbridge to the continent beyond the Mediterraneanand earn his trust. Thus, Giorgia Meloni – who arrived in Addis Ababa today after the summit held yesterday in Brussels on the competitiveness of the EU – defined the political key with which Italy seeks to continue the relationship with Africa which began two years ago and which continues from a perspective that is no longer national, butglobal.

In the Ethiopian capital, thesecond Italy-Africa summitit thus becomes the test bed for an intertwining strategyeconomic cooperation, energy security, management of migratory flowstraining support, but alsogeopolitical competition. In his speech which opened the summit, Meloni described the Mattei Plan as an instrument based onmutual trustand on the ability to identify together “the areas of collaboration in which we can make a difference with a view toshared benefits“.

Peer partnership and financial architecture

At the center, once again, is the idea of ​​overcoming the traditional approach to cooperation, replacing the logic of assistance with that of “partnership between equals“, with certain times andmeasurable results. The Prime Minister underlined that the Plan today can count on asolid financial architecturebuilt also thanks to the collaboration with theWorld Bank e la African Development Bankthanks to which they were “billions of euros mobilizedbetween public and private resources”. The Plan thus becomes onesystem platforminvolving businesses,universityresearch and cooperation, transforming the Italian presence in Africa into a coordinated strategy ofdiplomacy, finance and industrial capacity.

The political value of the Addis Ababa summit

Meloni, during the summit – and then in the joint statements made together with the President of the African Union João Lourenço and the President of the African Union Commission Mahmoud Ali Yossouf – reiterated the ambition to build “a model of cooperation based on trust and mutual respect, as equals to equals, far from any paternalistic approach“. That’s why the summit ofAddis Ababait therefore has asymbolic political value: continue to consolidate a stable narrative and strategic framework inItaly-Africa relations.

New financial initiatives: debt and climate

Still with a view to supporting the continent, one emerges from the summitsignificant newswhich Meloni herself announces at the end of the day. “A large-scale debt conversion initiative for joint development projects will be launchedand above all – and this is the news – the inclusion ofdebt suspension clausesfor nations affected byextreme climate eventswill be launched”, declared the Prime Minister. Another step that strengthens the Italian commitment in concrete support to theAfrican developmentand to the areas most in difficulty.

Mattei Plan as European leverage and stability

Even from a European perspective, theMattei Planit therefore becomes a lever to strengthen theItalian positionwithin the old continent, integratingAfrican developmentand regional stability withenergy securityroute control and economic growth. From the Ethiopian capital – where tomorrow Giorgia Meloni will participate as a guest of honor in the work of the African Union summit – a clear message therefore emerges: the desire to make the Mattei Plan the instrument with which Italy tries to structure its relationship with Africa in an increasingly stable way. But above all, between financial innovations, strategic cooperation and multilateral partnership, Rome sends a clear message:supporting African development is convenient for everyonee la mutual trustit is the true (and only) driving force of a collaboration that wants to last over time.