ROMA – The fact that successive governments in recent years, including the current one, have declared a growing interest in the African continent is certainly positive news. However, this interest did not always translate into concrete actions that reflected the declared ambitions. Thus begins Ambassador Melandri’s article, published on the website CeSPIthe Center for International Political Studies.
Many words, but halved allocations for Cooperation. In recent years, Africa has been at the center of institutional visits by Presidents of the Republic, Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers with a frequency never recorded in the past. Yet, taking as a reference a specific indicator that does not exhaust all the reports, the appropriations for the Development Cooperation and the funds actually used, net of inflation, were and remain less than half compared to the 1980s.
Continuity, with a new communicative emphasis. Furthermore, trade and direct investments continue to be dominated by imports in the energy sector, as well as exports (refined products and equipment for the extraction, treatment and transport of hydrocarbons). What was announced by the current Government with the Mattei Plan it is therefore part of a framework of continuity, albeit with a new communicative emphasis, which if it wants to produce an effective leap in quality will have to be equipped with resources, planning capabilities and international synergies also to encourage the necessary interventions of the private and public productive sectors and the third sector.
The relevant relations with the newly independent countries. Italy had moved since the immediate post-war period in favor of the decolonization process and had established significant relationships with the newly independent countries, also driven by its energy supply needs as part of a strategic plan promoted, as for the Middle East, especially by Enrico Mattei and supported by the governments that have followed one another since then.
The guiding idea is to curb migratory pressure. The innovation introduced by the current Government is that the main motivation announced since the beginning of the Mattei Plan it is the arrest or at least the brake on migratory pressure, which in the absence of effective channels of legal immigration manifests itself with irregular arrivals, extreme danger of journeys managed by criminal organisations, tragic shipwrecks and difficulties in managing the phenomenon, also in terms of safety, in the country of arrival. Following this logic it would therefore be necessary for public and private financial flows to have a concrete effect on migration, also keeping in mind that this motivation has been added to encourage flows of legal immigration which the Italian production and welfare system needs. As disclosed by Mattei Plan in fact, the aspect relating to the training of managers for local development and also for our needs for variously qualified human resources is significant. However, for these legal flows to be effective, a revision of the rules on the requirements for entry into Italy, on reception and on integration will be necessary. Without this review, the factors of illegality, marginalization and insecurity that we want to combat would persist.
Nothing can happen without legal channels of entry. We must also be aware that without legal immigration channels there cannot be or will not work the desired agreements for the return of irregular immigrants and for stopping their departures, considering the importance of remittances from migrants for the economies of the countries and communities of origin. Remittances which in Africa reached the figure of 100 billion dollars in 2023, coming not only from Europe and other OECD countries, but also from those of the Gulf where African migratory flows are directed to a similar extent. These are figures much higher than those of public development assistance and direct productive investments, which in the same year were respectively 53.5 and 53 billion dollars, although with peaks in the last ten years of up to over 80 billion .
The philosophy of the Mattei Plan. In what presents itself as the philosophy of Piano Mattei, but not only that, the arrest and regulation of migratory flows should have as their main factor the economic and social development of the countries of origin in the perspective of a privileged relationship between Italy, Europe, and Africa which should lead to common prosperity and security. While keeping in mind that the migratory pressures towards Europe are currently minimal compared to inter-African movements and similar to those towards the Gulf countries, the feasibility and success of that plan would require massive action on the causes of migration, including conflicts and climate change, operating in the countries of origin and transit with all the necessary political commitment and economic investment.
The international character of the commitment. This commitment should necessarily be of an international nature to promote sustainable development, along the lines indicated by theAgenda 2030 of the United Nations, and conditions of peace and stability based on structures of composition of interests within and between countries with all available crisis management tools, enhancing the role of the African Union and sub-regional organizations.
The distortions of growth patterns in Africa. The distortions of the prevailing growth modes which have occurred in recent years in Africa should therefore be corrected, which, alongside positive phenomena such as reductions in poverty and growth of the middle classes in many countries, also herald great inequalities and factors of instability with returns to dictatorial government systems. after periods of multi-party politics and more or less democratic structures after the end of the Cold War.
The real measures to be adopted: food security, income, employment . Employment and income generating activities should therefore be encouraged, especially in the manufacturing, services and food safety sectors, as well as renewable energy sources for local consumption and potentially for export to Europe, also using hydrogen as a carrier. , avoiding land appropriations (il land grabbing) encouraging the strengthening of institutions and social protection systems and also addressing the issue of debt which, after the cancellations, reschedulings and reconversions of the 1990s, has started to strangle the growth of African economies again.
The role of the EU and the G7. This would be a commitment that would require a considerable effort in which the widest possible participation of the major players in the international community is required, despite each having their own agendas and objectives that are often in conflict with each other in a competitive multipolar world. Among these, in addition obviously to the European Union, the international and regional financial institutions, the G7 as a whole, the Gulf countries and also an interlocution with China considering the role assumed by this country in Africa will be necessary. And this also with a view to developing inter-African trade, currently at minimum levels compared to other continents, for which in addition to the free trade agreements already concluded, transport infrastructures are needed to make them effectively operational.
The rules for success. In conclusion, the success of the renewed commitment announced by Italy on the African continent will be all the more successful the more it is inserted into a multilateral context capable of achieving the desired results and at the same time giving our country a role in an international framework from which positive impacts can also arise on other areas and topics of our priority interest.
* Maurizio Melani – Ambassador, Extraordinary Professor of International Relations, Link Campus University
#Africa #Mattei #Plan #obsession #slow #migratory #pressure #halving #resources #development
–
