Italy’s ‘non-predatory’ approach in Africa? Gibson Nyikadzino Correspondent
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Italy’s ‘non-predatory’ approach in Africa? Gibson Nyikadzino Correspondent Why is it when China hosts a summit of Africa leaders, the western establishment and its media target the Asian country as a “new colonizer?” Yet on the other hand, why is it when Italy hosts a summit for African leaders, it is perceived as an “opportunity for development?” Have you ever wondered why if Russia does the same, it is seen as “entrenching authoritarianism and undemocratic values”, while for the US it is “the expansion of growth opportunities, human rights and democratic ideals?” That is how bad it has become for Africa. It has become a geographical area of foreign social, economic and political contestations, with the recent coming through the Italy-Africa summit. Every country that wants to recalibrate and reconfigure its foreign policy is beginning to look to Africa. Ironically, last year Estonia, a country of just 1,3 million people signaled it was contemplating having its inaugural Estonia-Africa summit. Truth be told, the Italy-Africa summit favours European priorities and pockets, and is one more plan to diminish and dwindle Africa’s sense of pride and esteem through the Mattei Plan. The plan, revealed last October, allocated a budget of $633 million towards the new Italian Fund for Horizontal Cooperation for Africa from 2024-2026 to enhance energy cooperation and help Africa in areas such as health, education, and other key sectors. But the plan lacks a clear strategy, it has been hurriedly put in place because Italy does not want to lose an opportunity on the deliberations focusing on Africa. It is claiming its pound of flesh. What is therefore overwhelmingly known is that the main purpose of remaking Italy-Africa cooperation is to endeavor to stop African immigrants from crossing the Mediterranean Sea into Europe through Italy. This multilateral cooperation is an attempt to balance development and Italy’s migration concerns. Statistics show that last year 260,662 migrants crossed the Mediterranean Sea from Northern Africa to Europe, and of those, about 155,750 landed on Italian shores. It also has to be recognised that no matter how much Italy wants to appear sincere to Africa, suppose the $633 million financial package, if divided among 55 African countries, each country would be getting $11,5 million yearly. For three years, each country would be getting around $34,5 million. Instead of using summit diplomacy to engage Africa, Italy should have engaged sovereign African states through bilateral arrangements to deliberate ways to eliminate what Italians are mostly disgusted about, immigration. Notably, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni came to power in 2022 on an anti-migrant ticket. So the proposals in the Mattei Plan seek to enhance the position of Italy by dangling investments in the south in exchange for actions aimed at preventing migration. Download 33.5 Kb. Share with your friends:
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