ROME, Italy: TANZANIA is among eight African nations that Italy will give priority, under the new strategic Mattei Plan, for which 5.5 billion euros (about 13.7tri/-) have been set up for projects’ implementations.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday unveiled this massive investment plan, aimed at strengthening Italian relations with Africa, in an attempt to boost energy ties and curb migration flows.
The premier hosted a meeting of about 25 African Heads of State and Government as she sought to forge an influential role for Rome as a political and economic bridge between the European Union (EU) and the African continent.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Mr January Makamba is attending the meeting on behalf of President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
The plan was first touted in December 2022 and dubbed “Mattei Plan,” after Enrico Mattei, an Italian public administrator, who in the 1950s, advocated for Italy to support North African governments to grow their economies and develop their natural resources.
“Mass illegal immigration will never be stopped, traffickers in human lives will never be defeated if we don’t tackle the causes which push someone to abandon his/her own home,” Meloni, who heads a right-wing coalition, told the conference at the Rome Senate.
“That is exactly what we intend to do, on the one hand declaring war against the traffickers of the third millennium, and working to offer the African peoples alternative opportunities, work, training and legal migration,” she pointed out.
Italy’s priorities will include energy, education and professional training, health, agriculture and water, Meloni said. The initial package, including loans, grants and guarantees, will be made up of about €3 billion from Italy’s climate fund and about €2.5 billion from development resources, she added.
Detailing the plan, the President of the Italy-Africa Chamber of Commerce (ItalAfrica Centrale), Engineer Alfredo Cestari, when he met with Minister Makamba, on the sidelines of the ongoing Fourth Italy-Africa Summit that commenced on Monday in Rome, Italy said the plan will benefit Tanzania.
Engineer Cestari further said that the Italian government will fund priority projects for the chosen eight African countries, adding that the plan’s implementation will start right after the summit.
According to him, the action will also involve covering the feasibility study costs of the proposed projects.
“The Italian government has allocated a 3million euros initial budget to carry out these initiatives in eight African priority countries, including Tanzania,” Cestari noted.
In order to complete the first steps of signing the bilateral cooperation agreement, which will involve the implementation of projects that will be adopted by both parties, a delegation of experts from the Italian Chamber of Commerce, led by the Italian Deputy Foreign Minister, Dr Edmondo Cirielli, is expected to arrive in Tanzania within a month.
For his part, Mr Makamba commended the Italian government for demonstrating its determination to deepen ties with African nations, especially through the Mattei Plan, which prioritises the energy sector, education, and agriculture.
Among other things, the Fourth Italy-Africa Summit is aimed at improving the business and investment environment in order to increase the level of trade and investment between the two countries through the plan.
Over 50 delegations, mainly from African countries, as well as EU leaders and representatives of international organisations, are in the Italian capital for the summit.
The purpose of the conference is to present Italy’s strategic plan that aims to review the country’s approach to the African continent.