“There is an Italian protagonism in Africa, as a whole, and in the Horn of Africa, which for us is crucial and sensitive for many matters”, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told reporters upon her arrival at the Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa.
«We have an excellent friendship with the prime minister» from Ethiopia, «which we have strengthened because it is the third time we have met. And this may also have developments in terms of the overall stability of the region. Tomorrow we will also hold a trilateral agreement with the Somali president, whom I have already met. There is certainly an Italian protagonism in Africa and in the Horn of Africa which is crucial and sensitive for us».
Ethiopia, the arrival of Prime Minister Meloni welcomed by Prime Minister Abiy
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said this when she arrived at a hotel in Addis Ababa after being greeted by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali with whom she had an interview at the airport. «Here there are many subjects on which to discuss and migration – he underlined in response to reporters – is a consequence, but here are our companies with investments and infrastructures, which are also infrastructures referable to what I call the Mattei Plan for ‘Africa, Italian companies that are building the main lines».
“The May conference in New York is co-led by Italy together with Sudan, our Foreign Minister will certainly be leading it, because it is an inter-ministerial one, but as they know I am always available”, added Meloni in reply to a question about his possible presence at the appointment for the donor countries for the Horn of Africa.
Among the initiatives for Africa, the premier also recalled the ‘Stocktaking Moment’, the FAO event “that we are organizing in Rome for 24-26 July for which we have invited the African Union, and I think there will be Ethiopian Prime Minister’. The Italy-Africa intergovernmental summit in October, he concluded, will instead be an opportunity to present the Mattei plan for which confrontation with African countries is “important”, “because you cannot expect to know what the best options are: we we can offer our ideas, our points of view, then it’s important to involve them and that’s what we’re doing. October is the occasion to arrive at an overall definition of the plan in which these nations are involved”.