Dream bigger: The next steps for Italy's new Africa strategy – European Council on Foreign Relations

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This week, during the first ever Italy-Africa summit, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni presented Rome’s much anticipated new Africa strategy.
While curbing irregular immigration is one of the ultimate aims of Meloni’s Africa strategy, the Mattei plan – named after the founder of Italy’s energy giant, Eni’s Enrico Mattei – has more to it. It draws inspiration from Mattei’s emphasis on supply diversification to ensure energy security for Italy’s post-second world war industrial and socio-economic development, and his dual flag approach that envisaged equitable benefits for Italy and oil-producing countries in Africa. In this vein, the new Italian strategy aims to foster interdependencies between Europe and Africa to fulfil both their economic and industrial ambitions. Although energy is central to the plan – driven by Meloni’s ambition to transform Italy into an energy hub for Europe – it also addresses other strategic sectors for the Italian economy.
Despite several critics calling it an “empty box”, the Mattei plan is innovative compared to previous Italian and some European Africa strategies:
The Mattei plan is pragmatic, but so far still limited to specific projects. To ensure Italy’s economic interests and contribute to Europe’s redefinition of Europe-Africa relations, a better articulated and broader strategy is essential. Such a strategy should:
The Italian government should also take this opportunity to re-imagine its international posture. The current geopolitical context requires flexibility and the ability to engage not just autonomously but via strategic interdependencies with various partners. Italy could interact with other, non-European, partners active in Africa which, depending on the sector, may share objectives, risks, and costs – including the Gulf monarchies and India, and sectors of shared interest like connectivity infrastructure.
The European Council on Foreign Relations does not take collective positions. ECFR publications only represent the views of their individual authors.
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