Rome migration conference ‘first step’ towards Mattei Plan

Addis Ababa, July 24, 2023 (FBC) – Sunday’s international conference on development and migration at the foreign ministry in Rome “is the first step towards drawing up the Mattei Plan that Italy will present at the Italy-Africa Conference in November”, diplomatic sources said.

Organised in haste on the initiative of Premier Giorgia Meloni, the meeting of leaders of Mediterranean and Gulf countries and the European Union “aims to govern the migratory phenomenon, fight human trafficking and promote economic development according to a new model of cooperation between states, through the joint planning and implementation of initiatives and projects in six main sectors: agriculture; energy; infrastructure; education-training; health; water and hygiene,” the sources added.

PM Meloni announced a plan for Africa named after Eni founder Enrico Mattei during a visit to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in April.

“We are working on a series of initiatives regarding Africa,” she said.

“The next Italy-Africa intergovernmental summit, which takes place every two years, will be in the autumn and it could be the occasion to present our Mattei plan,” said Meloni of the project reportedly focusing on cooperation on energy and curbing migration flows “In the meantime, we are working in cooperation with African countries because you cannot assume you know the best solutions without dialogue with those who are directly affected,” Meloni added.

At the initiative of the Italian Government, the leaders of almost all states on the southern shore of the wider Mediterranean, in the Middle East and the Gulf, as well as EU Member States of first arrival and a number of partners from the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, together with the heads of European institutions and international financial institutions, met at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Rome on Sunday (23 July), to address emergencies and launch a shared development strategy.