Egyptian Preisdent Abdel Fattah El Sisi has delegated International Co-operation Minister Rania al-Mashat to take part, on his behalf, in the Italy-Africa summit conference, scheduled to convene in Rome on Monday.
Co-operation between Italy and Africa in the field of energy and the promotion of development in the African countries will be the focus of the Egypt statement that Minister Mashat will deliver to the summit, according to a press release by the International Co-operation Ministry.
Egypt’s statement will also deal with ways to redress development gaps in Africa, put the continent on a path to bolster green transformation and achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
The statement will also highlight the need for coordinating multilateral action to mobilise the international community’s efforts in the direction of supporting green transformation in Africa and reducing vulnerability to climate change through carrying out adaptation and mitigation projects.
During her stay in Rome, Minister Mashat will also hold talks with Italian officials on aspects of the fruitful co-operation between Egypt and Italy, especially including in the fields of development.
In this context, the talks are expected to deal with the necessity of promoting such co-operation in light of Egypt’s developmental priorities and its efforts to stimulate the private sector’s engagement in development efforts.
The summit will represent an important step in the furtherance of co-operation for development between Italy and Africa, said Egypt’s Ambassador to Italy, Bassam Radi, who received Minister Mashat as she flew to Rome on Sunday.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will chair the summit with high-level Italian and African participation, Radi said. Italy, he added, intends to put forward an integrated plan for co-operation and development in Africa.
Egypt, Ambassador Radi said, is looking forward to the furtherance of joint action with Italy and constructive multilateral co-operation across the continent of Africa.
Egypt also looks forward to the exchange of expertise within the framework of the Italian plan, known as the “Matteo Plan,” due to be launched during the conference, Ambassador Radi said. He noted that the plan had been meticulously formulated within the Italian institutions concerned over the past year.
The Matteo Plan, Ambassador Radi said, covers ambitious projects for constructive co-operation and mutually beneficial partnership between Italy and the African continent.
The Mattei Plan, named after the late Enrico Mattei who founded Italian energy giant Eni in the 1950s, has been billed as a cornerstone of Meloni’s foreign policy.
Energy security, economic co-operation, infrastructure, food security, vocational training, migration and security issues would be the principal themes of the Italy-Africa summit, Ambassador Radi said.
More than 20 heads-of-state and government are in Rome for the event, which kicked off with a dinner Sunday ahead of the official summit on Monday.
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