Africa: Italian Prime Minister Hosts Summit of African Leaders

Italy’s prime minister is holding a summit of African leaders Monday.

In addition to two dozen African leaders, European Union and United Nations officials and representatives from international lending institutions are attending the summit.

“The objective is to present to African countries our vision of African development,” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told Italian broadcaster Rai. “This means a new, non-predatory, non-paternalistic approach… a peer-to-peer approach to grow together,”Meloni said.

The initiative is known as the Mattei Plan, named after Enrico Mattei, founder of state-controlled oil and gas giant Eni.

Initials projects of the Mattei Plan would include programs in education, health care, water, sanitation, agriculture and infrastructure.

French newspaper Le Monde reports that Italy has allocated just a little more than $3 million for the initiative.

Italy is one the first places African migrants looking for a better life often land in their trek across the Mediterranean Sea.

Meloni’s plan is reportedly designed to create jobs, in Africa, that would discourage Africans from taking the treacherous voyage across the sea.