Why is Italy preparing a plan for Africa?

On Monday, during the Italy-Africa Summit, the Italian government revealed the specifics of the much-anticipated initiative designed to enhance development in Africa. The objective is to stimulate economic growth in the region, ultimately addressing irregular immigration to Europe. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni outlined the key components of the “Mattei Plan,” named after the late Enrico Mattei, the founder of the state oil company Eni.

The facts

The Italian strategy will be structured around five primary policy pillars: education and training, agriculture, health, water, and energy, the latter being of paramount importance for Rome. The overarching goal is to position Italy as an energy hub for transporting natural gas supplies from Africa to the rest of Europe, with the prominent role of Italian energy major Eni in this initiative.

The Italian government expresses its commitment to fortifying energy efficiency and advocating for the utilization of renewable energies. Prime Minister Meloni highlighted several small-scale pilot projects across different sectors. Examples include establishing a renewable energy training center in Morocco, renovating schools in Tunisia, enhancing primary healthcare for mothers and children in Ivory Coast, supporting farmers in northern Egypt, fostering the biofuels sector in Kenya, implementing an agriculture monitoring project in Algeria, and undertaking water network projects in the Congo Republic.

Emphasizing the significance of education, Meloni stressed that Africa needs to train its professionals for constructing schools, hospitals, and infrastructure. Agriculture was also underscored as pivotal for development, with Italy aspiring to provide technology to expand cultivatable land.

The arguments

The initiative is projected to have an annual cost of approximately 3 million euros, spanning a four-year duration. The primary objective is to strengthen energy collaboration with African nations and extend assistance across various sectors, encompassing health and education. While the plan aims to address the underlying economic factors contributing to mass migration from Africa, some critics contend that it lacks a well-defined strategy and it’s sole purpose is to increase Italian influence in Africa.

Italy cannot afford anymore to be vague on its Africa policy. Roughly 40% of the country’s gas supply is sourced from African producers, and this dependency is expected to increase. Italy’s engagement in the Sahel and North Africa, aimed at mitigating rising instability and foreign interference, has been occasionally lacking in diligence. Despite the fact that 80% of migrant arrivals into Italy originate from northern African ports, Rome’s efforts at fostering cooperation on migration have largely proven unsuccessful.

Italy is seeing Africa as the emerging battleground between the East and West, with Russia increasing its involvement in Africa from Sudan to Mali, and China’s Belt and Road Initiative strengthening its influence on the continent. Throughout history, Italy and the West have often pursued containment strategies rather than fostering mutual interest or equitable collaboration, a legacy that many Africans view with disdain. Italy’s failure to adequately address its colonial past and fulfil moral responsibilities in former colonies further exacerbates this sentiment. The widespread lack of awareness regarding the plan also provides an opportunity for Prime Minister Meloni to present the Mattei plan as non-exploitative toward African nations, despite the absence of concrete evidence. The success of new initiatives between Italy and Africa requires a deep understanding of history and a keen awareness of how these efforts will be perceived.

While energy may be the most relevant part of the Mattei Plan, it seems that Meloni is investing political capital in it mostly because of migration. Despite promises to halt migrant boat arrivals from North Africa, landings in Italy have increased under Meloni’s leadership, rising from around 105,000 in 2022 to nearly 158,000 in 2023. Italy has been involved in training the Libyan and Tunisian coastguards as part of a broader EU initiative.

The Mattei Plan aims to address what are known as “push factors” and encourage origin countries to enter into readmittance deals for migrants who are denied permission to stay in Italy. Experts caution that the initiative needs to be designed for long-term impact, considering Italy’s well-known political instability.

Analysts raise doubts about whether the government possesses the necessary knowledge or experience in African development to effectively implement the plan. Italy traditionally maintains close relations with Mediterranean countries such as Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, and Egypt but has a less established connection with sub-Saharan Africa, which should be a focal point of the Mattei Plan.

Italy has primarily small and medium-sized enterprises, for which it would be a significant step to consider investing in what are perceived to be very remote and often problematic countries. Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi also explored sub-Saharan African markets in 2014 to 2016, but faced significant challenges.