The Guardian accredited as summit’s media partner

Ahead of the much-awaited international summit, tagged ‘Italy-Africa: A bridge for common growth’, holding between January 28 and 29 at the Italian Senate in Rome, The Guardian Newspaper has obtained a Media Accreditation for the summit as a media partner.

  
According to the Chief Executive Officer of The Guardian, Toke Alex-Ibru, the accreditation is part of the brand’s commitment to the integrity and sovereignty of the Federation of Nigeria, as well as the growth and sovereignty of Africa and, ultimately, in line with his vision to project The Guardian Nigeria at an international level.
  
Next week, Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, will present an urgently needed strategic plan for Africa, called the ‘Mattei Plan’ and how it relates to the continent and the rest of the world.
  
The plan is named 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.

Seventy years on, Meloni is showcasing the Mattei plan as the crown jewel of her foreign policy, aiming to once again renew Italy’s approach to the African continent.
 
As things stands and looking at the year ahead, Italy cannot afford to be vague on its Africa policy with the incursion of China and Russia amid a renewed frenzy of bolstering relations between the United States of America (USA) and the continent.

  
Presently, around 40 per cent of its gas comes from African producers, and this number is only set to rise; its involvement in the Sahel and North Africa to mitigate rising instability and foreign interferences has not been solid; and despite 80 per cent of irregular arrivals into Italy coming from northern African ports, Rome’s attempts at cooperation on migration have been lame and largely unsuccessful.
  
Top on the front burner during the summit will include climate and energy crises, political instability, and irregular migration which is not likely to go away anytime soon on the continent. There will also be some attempt to carry forward the Mattei Plan, with the Italian government shifting its Africa policy from reaction to action by fostering cooperation with African capitals to address the long-term mutual interests.
  
Meloni is not the first Italian prime minister to focus on strengthening relations with Africa. In 2007, Romano Prodi was the first Italian premier to visit the African Union. Later, Matteo Renzi doubled down on such efforts. Between 2014 and 2016, he announced the opening of five new embassies on the continent, approved a new law on development aid, and visited seven African capitals with the aim of stimulating cooperation, investment, and stronger relations.
  
Unlike her predecessors however, Meloni seems to have understood that for Italian involvement in Africa to pay off in terms of influence, it can only do so through a multi-year strategy, supported by defined policy instruments. Already, the government has disbursed €3 Billion to create a structure to manage the plan.