The tragic murder of Luca Attanasio and the two other members of the mission to which he was a part violently brought a forgotten country, Congo, back to the front page and raised a question: why be present in such dangerous countries? Why invest human and economic resources in apparently desperate places? All the more so now that we should take care of our new poor …
The pandemic has sharpened the gap between the needs of the most vulnerable populations and the resources available to address them, and unfortunately perhaps also weakened the will to recognize them, with the risk of unwittingly plunging us into a new catastrophe. Our priority is to save lives from COVID-19 and protect economies, but both are global challenges that can only be solved through common commitment and strategic alliances.
Alliances like the new one that we hope will be consolidated between Europe and Africa involving the Mediterranean, to build together the answers to common problems, not so much to improve cooperation.
More and more complex challenges can only be faced by forging new principles of collaboration in areas such as trade, investments, new sources of energy, exchange of research and technology, development of health services: research must be conducted together in Euro-Med-African laboratories, thus how technologies should be studied in concert, considering the links between rights, data protection and actors.
This is the way of working that will help to overcome de facto the obsolete development / humanitarian assistance / security theorem and to formulate new and sustainable solutions. Some examples: the digital transformation of the economy and services on the African continent continues to be inadequate and must be developed with strategic determination; leading European companies could make a decisive contribution to expanding and finally unifying the African economic system into one large digital market; African culture is very rich in talents that can become a source of common progress in an articulated exchange with the most dynamic European NGOs and companies; the energy transition is destined to transform the principles of international economic development, a unique opportunity to redefine the economic dialogue between Africa and the rest of the world.
The Congo paradox: rich in resources, but at the bottom of the ranking of human development
by Eugenio Occorsio
These are not abstract ambitions, but socio-economic dynamics already in place. Europe is already Africa’s main trading partner and this economic proximity must and can be further strengthened for the benefit of both continents, for example by developing inter-African trade. The growth of internal African trade constitutes the most formidable factor of social stability and economic growth in the region, and can open favorable markets to Italian and European companies. The promotion of African competitiveness and productivity is the essential precondition for the creation of new jobs, and work in turn is the first driver of exit from poverty, therefore the most valid first deterrent to irregular emigration that worries states. Europeans.
This is documented by countless AVSI projects underway in many African countries that integrate actions in the field of education, training and job placement, business start-ups, collaborating with local civil society, with businesses, with institutions by setting up equal partnership models .
Those just mentioned are only hints relating to the historical dynamics that already determine our present. We would like them to also become great opportunities to reshape international relations, which are indispensable to get out of a situation at risk of stagnation – if not relegation – and build our future. It will certainly be better if we can deal with it together.
* The authors:
Angelino Alfano, lawyer, former minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, president of the De Gasperi Foundation
Laura Frigenti, Global Head International Development Practice at KPMG LLP, former director of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation
Paolo Lembo, ex capo Missione Onu in Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Yemen
Stefano Manservisi, special adviser to the European commissioner for the economy Paolo Gentiloni, and former Director General of international cooperation of the European Commission