Italy-Africa Mattei Plan: What Are Algeria’s Benefits?

The Italian government revealed the first details of the “Mattei economic plan” directed to the African continent in several sectors, a project whose first launch was announced in Algeria in January 2023, during the visit of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Algeria will be concerned with it in the fields of agriculture and energy so it is one of the few countries that will be included in many projects.

At a summit on Monday, the Italian government unveiled details of a long-awaited project aimed at boosting development in Africa, hoping it will help spark economic growth that will curb irregular immigration to Europe.

Meloni said Italy would set aside an initial 5.5 billion euros ($5.95 billion) for the Mattei plan, including public guarantees for investment projects and 3 billion euros from a climate fund set up in 2021 to promote international environmental projects.

The Italian plan will be developed along five main policy pillars: education and training; agriculture; health; water; and energy – which is the most significant for Rome.

According to an Italian government document, the African “Matai” project is based on five main axes: education and training, which depends on the transfer of Italian experience in the field of small and medium enterprises, and agriculture, through which Rome seeks to reduce the level of poor coverage on the continent, develop family agriculture, and combat climate change and adapting to it by developing integrated agriculture, as well as developing and strengthening food supply chains.

Developing health conditions by supporting local health systems and improving access to care and treatment services, especially for mothers and children, and strengthening local capabilities in terms of management, training and employment of health care workers, research and digitization, while developing strategies and systems to prevent and contain health threats, especially during pandemics and natural disasters.

The fourth pillar of the “Mattei” plan is the energy sector classifying it as a strategic goal, by making Italy an international energy center and a bridge between the African and European continents. Projects related to this sector focus on the relationship between climate and energy and aim to enhance the efficiency of its use and expand reliance on renewable energy. Measures aimed at accelerating the transition of electricity systems, especially electricity generation, transmission and distribution from renewable sources.

Italy wants to become an energy hub to transport natural gas supplies from Africa to the rest of Europe, with Italian energy major Eni set to play a key role in the initiative. The government said it wanted to strengthen energy efficiency and promote the use of renewable energies.

Meloni listed an array of small pilot projects in the various segments, including a centre for training on renewable energy, redevelopment of Tunisian schools, improving primary care for mothers and children in the Ivory Coast, supporting farmers in northern Egypt, development of the biofuels sector in Kenya, an agriculture monitoring project in Algeria and work on water networks in the Congo Republic.

The fifth and final axis relates to water, through projects to dig wells that operate with photoelectric systems, maintain pre-existing water points, invest in distribution networks, and awareness campaigns on the use of clean and potable water.

Regarding Algeria, the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers stated that it would benefit from an important project to develop agriculture based on launching a system to monitor and follow up on various crops via satellite, throughout the stages of their production, from ploughing and sowing to harvesting.

Also in the agricultural aspect, a previous document from the Coldiretti Association, the largest professional gathering of farmers in Italy, indicates that Algeria is included in a huge project to produce grains in large areas using the latest technologies within the “Mattei” project.

The project aims to cultivate 10,000 hectares for grain production in cooperation with Bonifiche Ferraresi, an established company specialized in agricultural production and listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, which had obtained, in June 2023, a final concession contract in Algeria, for the initial exploitation of 900 hectares in the south of Algeria, within the framework of a previous agreement between the two countries to support this field and raise its production locally.

In the energy sector, Algeria is considered the cornerstone of this huge project, whether in the fields of natural gas, hydrogen or electricity.

The “Mattei Plan” – named after the late Enrico Mattei, who founded state oil company Eni – as outlined by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The Italian plan is based on making Italy a Mediterranean and European energy centre, through gas supplies, especially Algerian ones, given that it is the first supplier of this energy resource to Italy, through the “Transmed-Enrico Mattei” pipeline, which connects the two countries via Tunisia.

It also includes the development of the second southern hydrogen corridor, which will transport this clean energy resource from Algeria and North Africa in general through Italy, then Austria, all the way to Germany.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hailed a new partnership with Africa on Monday during the Italy-Africa summit in Rome, unveiling the long-awaited plan aimed at boosting economic ties. She said Rome was also looking to involve international financial institutions, the European Union and other nations in the financing of the plan.

Hosting a one-day summit attended by more than two dozen African leaders and European Union officials, Meloni outlined a series of initiatives, pledging an initial 5.5 billion euros ($5.95 billion), including state guarantees.

Meloni said the summit had been a success that had produced many areas of potential cooperation, particularly concerning energy.

“We are only at the beginning, there is a very long road ahead of us. This day is a restart,” she said in her closing remarks.

However, there was a note of discord from some present, with Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the African Union Commission, saying he wished Africa had been consulted first on priorities and emphasising the need to honour commitments.

“I want to insist here on the need to move from words to actions. You can well understand that we can no longer be satisfied with promises that are often not kept,” he said, standing alongside Meloni in Italy’s ornate Senate.

In a news conference after the summit, Meloni acknowledged that it was important now to ensure that work began to deliver projects that would make a difference on the ground.

Among the African leaders present were the presidents of Tunisia, Senegal, Kenya, the Republic of Congo, and Somalia and the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Attaf. In all, 45 African states were represented at various levels.

Critics have said that heavily indebted Italy cannot hope to compete with the likes of China, Russia and Gulf states, which are all looking to boost their presence in Africa, which is home to many of the world’s natural resources.

Energy needs lie at the heart of the Mattei plan, with Rome looking to serve as a gateway into European markets for natural gas from Africa that has become vital after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine made diversification of supplies a priority for the EU.

Eni, Italy’s largest importer of natural gas, has already countered lower Russian supplies by shipping increased volumes from Africa, where it has had a presence for decades.

The company has said Algeria, Egypt and Libya will be Italy’s main gas suppliers for the next few years.

Meloni also said Europe had to bolster industry and agriculture in Africa to strengthen local economies as a way of persuading disaffected young Africans to stop migrating north.

Some 157,600 boat migrants reached Italy last year, the largest number since 2016, undermining Meloni’s electoral pledge to halt the flow of unauthorised arrivals.

Most departed from North African countries such as Tunisia and Libya, many fleeing poverty and conflict in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.

“Mass immigration will never be stopped, human traffickers will never be defeated if we do not address the many causes that push a person to leave their home,” Meloni told the summit. “This is exactly what we intend to do”.