Rebooting Italy’s Africa policy : making the Mattei Plan work

After decades of relative disengagement, since the 2010s Rome has given Africa unusual room in its foreign policy considerations, with new high-level meetings and proposals. The Mattei Plan recently launched by the Italian government fits into this trend and aims at bringing it to the next level, strengthening political investment in the region. Based on Italy’s priorities, attention to Africa should not come as a surprise: because of geographical proximity, Rome perceives both the need to address potential geopolitical challenges and the opportunity to act as a link between African countries and the rest of the European Union, an idea expressed through the oft-evoked metaphor of “a bridge between Africa and Europe”. Several Italian concerns call for an involvement in the region. Migration remains a pivotal issue in the domestic and European political debate, regardless of the actual ups and downs of migrant flows. High levels of energy import dependency also push Italy towards developing the north-south axis of supply, searching for new deals with African producers. Trade and investment relations with Africa, still very much untapped, could offer Italian companies fresh opportunities in emerging frontier markets. Geo-strategic considerations too, especially in unstable and increasingly crucial areas such as the Sahel, invite Italy to respond and reassert its middle-power status. Rome is not alone in seeking a renewed relationship with Africa, as numerous similar efforts have been launched by the European Union (EU) and other EU member states since the 2000s, leading to the flourishing of policies, strategies and plans centring around Africa. Though Brussels seeks to distinguish itself from other global competitors as a more valuable and reliable partner, however, it is not always the case that European and African priorities coincide, leading to mismatches and misunderstandings. Between late 2023 and early 2024, the Italian government presented the Mattei Plan as an initiative for the structural renewal of relations with African countries animated by a “new method”, which aims to “foster development in African countries” through the establishment of political and economic partnerships based on a “non-charitable” approach and through a continuous engagement of Italian and African actors of different natures and at different levels. Much remains to be seen how the conceptual and operational assumptions of the new Plan, still in its early stages, will translate into a fully-fledged long-term strategy, how its initiatives will materialise and what they will eventually deliver to African countries and to Italy itself. This paper frames the Plan in the broader context of Italy-Africa relations and of Italian and EU policies towards the continent, with a particular focus on the dynamics of, and the relation with, sub-Saharan Africa. It highlights the key components of the Plan and suggests some caveats in the effort to establish more constructive relationships with African partners. Such caveats begin with the need to understand the proposed initiatives against the backdrop Rebooting Italy's Africa Policy: Making the Mattei Plan Work | 9 Policy Paper of the megatrends that are shaping changes and challenges in the region’s development processes, and to best align them with the interests, priorities and strategies already identified by African countries and the African Union. Failure to do so will be detrimental to the effectiveness of the Plan and to constructive dialogue with African partners. To best move forward, the Plan should make an extra effort to take into account past experiences and the lessons learned from what other countries have done, as well as to build the consensus necessary for Italy’s Africa policy to be sustainable in the long term; it should reinforce and enforce impact assessment tools that are consistent with well-defined strategic objectives; it needs to engage reliable Italian and African actors through an efficient and inclusive process; and it should seek and maintain a frank and respectful exchange with African partners, building initiatives that are realistic, shared and fruitful for all parties involved.