Bari, Italy – Africa is expected to be high on Italy’s agenda this year at the Group of Seven (G7) leaders’ meeting, as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni aims to position the country as a key energy hub between Europe and the continent.
But it is not yet known whether there is a clear vision and economic resources to do so, experts warned.
A dozen heads of state are expected to take part in the three-day forum, which begins Thursday in the southern region of Apulia, to discuss global politics.
Africa, climate change and development are the first topics of the initial G7 session.
Signaling Meloni’s outreach ambitions, a relatively large number of guests from the Global South were invited to this year’s forum.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Israel’s war in Gaza and growing competition with China are expected to dominate the talks, but Meloni wants the crown jewel of his foreign policy to take center stage: the so-called Mattei Plan .
The project embodies his vision of projecting power into Africa and transforming Italy into a bridge for distributing gas from Africa and the Mediterranean to the rest of Europe, as well as supporting economic growth to curb mass migration from the African continent.
But Meloni’s objectives appear to be focused on investment rather than development.
It selected financial institutions, banks, and private and state-owned companies for its effort. The involvement of NGOs and humanitarian organizations is less prominent.
In the G7, experts say, she will look for partnerships, money and legitimacy.
The timing could not be better for the prime minister who will preside over the summit as Europe’s rising star following his victory in the recent European Parliament elections.
A new face
“It is about presenting a new strategy that appeals to both the electorate and companies – Africa is seen as an opportunity for growth by diversifying partners and energy resources [are] key,” said Maddalena Procopio, senior policy fellow in the Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
“Meloni wants to present Italy as the new European face in Africa and putting emphasis on the continent at the G7 is a smart move because she knows there is unprecedented global interest in it,” said Procopio.
Africa is home to about 30 percent of the world’s mineral reserves, many of which are essential for renewable and low-carbon technologies, including solar and electric vehicles. It also stores 8% of the world’s natural gas, according to the UN.
These resources are essential at a time when Western nations are trying to free themselves from Russian gas after Moscow invaded Ukraine. As of last year, Algeria was responsible for almost 40% of Italy’s gas imports.
Some observers say there is also a geopolitical calculation.
Italy’s ambition is to intervene at a time when competitor France is suffering major setbacks.
Italy has a lighter colonial background compared to France and intends to adopt a tone that is neither paternalistic nor imposing on its African partners. Anti-French and anti-American sentiments have recently emerged across the continent, especially in French-speaking Africa, where French troops have departed from several countries.
‘Just narrative’
Amid growing competition between the Western bloc and the China-Russia front, the EU and the US will follow Meloni’s plan with interest, but there is a certain skepticism about its viability.
During an Italy-Africa summit earlier this year, Meloni detailed five areas of investment – energy, agriculture, water, health and education – and some pilot projects.
Observers were not impressed.
“It was vague and most of the projects presented were a reformulation of some already in operation,” said Bernardo Venturi, head of research and policy at the NGO Agência para a Construção da Paz.
He stated that no additional resources were allocated to the plan – beyond €5 billion ($5.38 billion) previously taken from other budgets, and stated that the majority of African partners had not been consulted.
Since then, a working group was created where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NGOs with decades of experience in the field were left with a marginal role, he added.
“Italy also lacks economic resources to invest in new projects and has a marginal institutional presence across the continent,” said Venturi, who closely followed the development of the project.
To do this, it needs EU member states to support it financially, but Meloni attributed a rather low degree of responsibility to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, raising questions about its international reach.
Further criticism came from human rights groups, who said the plan is an attempt to disguise anti-immigration policies as an energy investment scheme.
Meloni based much of his electoral campaign on promises to address the issue of migration.
Human rights groups have accused his government of trying to impede the work of search and rescue organizations in the Mediterranean by restricting the rights of refugees to reach its shores.
An Italian official who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity rejected the initiative, saying: “There is no Mattei Plan, it is just narrative.”
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
