Italy’s ‘Mattei Plan’: What does Georgia Meloni want from Africa?

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In January Italy’s prime minister, Georgia Meloni, outlined a new strategy for relations with Africa at an Italy-Africa summit in Rome. The so-called Mattei Plan – named after the founding president of the Italian energy company ENI, Enrico Mattei – aims to shape a new Italian strategy for Africa by mobilising around €5.5bn for African development over the next five to seven years, principally in the areas of education, health, agriculture, water, and energy.

In return, the tough-talking Meloni, who surged to power last year as part of a migrant-sceptic right-wing resurgence in Europe, argues that substantial development spending in Africa will convince many would-be African migrants to stay at home – and persuade their governments to clamp down on illegal immigration to Europe via the Mediterannean.

Overall, 155,754 migrants from all sources landed in Italy in 2023, compared to 103,846 over the course of 2022, according to reports citing the Italian interior ministry on 29 December.

“Illegal mass immigration will never be stopped, human traffickers will never be defeated, unless the root causes that drive people to leave their homes are addressed,” Meloni told the summit.

In the year that Italy hosts the rotating presidency of the G7, the plan places Rome front and centre in Europe’s diplomatic efforts to forge new relations with Africa