Italy-Africa Summit

Italy-Africa Summit

Rome [ENA] The Italy-Africa Summit will be held in Rome on 29 January 2024 with most of the events scheduled. The summit - organized by the Italian government - officially began on January 28 with the dinner hosted by the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale. The President received the leaders of 25 African countries in the presence of the Prime Minister Meloni, the Foreign Minister Tajani,

the EU leaders: von der Leyen, Metsola and Michel, the President of the African Union Azali Assoumani, the President of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, the deputy secretary general of the UN, Amina Jane Mohammed, the director of the IMF, Kristina Georgieva and the Vatican Secretary of State Parolin. President Mattarella said: “The intention and hope are to be able to achieve, after the intense dialogue started in recent years with the Italy-Africa ministerial conferences, an even stronger and more structured relationship between the African continent and our country ”.

Missing from the summit are the countries where a coup d'état was held under Russian direction: Mali, Sudan, Niger and Burkina Faso. But Nigeria, a country more closely linked to Great Britain, is also missing. The plenary meeting of the Italy-Africa Summit began at 10:00 ‘o clock on 29th January in the hall of Palazzo Madama (Italian Senate). After the greeting speech by the President of the Senate, Ignazio La Russa, the President of the Council of Ministers, Giorgia Meloni, took the floor. This was followed by speeches by the Vice President of the Council of Ministers

and Minister of Foreign Affairs and the International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani; of the President of the African Union, Azali Assoumani; of the President of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki; of the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola; of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel; of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; of the UN Deputy Secretary General, Amina Jane Mohammed. At the end, the work continued with the following thematic sessions: Economic and Infrastructural Cooperation; Food Security; Energy Security and Transition; Vocational training and culture; Migration Mobility and Security Issues.

The aim of the summit is to present African countries with a vision aimed at the development of Africa. Italy wants to have an equal approach with Africa to grow together. For the Italian government, there is a need for a new approach towards Africa, not predatory, not paternalistic but not even charitable. An equal approach to grow together. The advantages are countless as everything that happens in Africa involves Italy: from migration to security to supply chains.