(Adnkronos) – Italy must become top interlocutor for resource-rich Africa, which in coming decades “is likely to become the most important continent in the world,” foreign minister Antonio Tajani stated on Monday.
“I want to stress how important it is for Italy to be Africa’s primary interlocutor,” Tajani told the ‘Africa Womb of the World: Italy at the helm of relations with the EU’ conference held in Rome.
“We are the closest country and that is why I think it’s right to make Africa a priority as the cradle of resources and of the world,” he said.
By 2050 Africa’s population will reach 2.5 billion, Tajani noted.
“It is likely to be the most important continent in the world. If we fail to understand this beforehand, we risk no longer being its main interlocutor,” Tajani said.
Italy has a vital role to play in Africa because it views the continent as “an extraordinary resource” and as an interlocutor, he said.
’Italy is a country that has a non-predatory and non-colonial attitude towards the African continent,” Tajani argued.
Italians “know how to integrate and know how to dialogue with Africa’s peoples, allowing them to be a bridge” with Europe,” Tajani went on.
“This will ensure that Europe can pay ever-greater attention to Africa,” Tajani said.
Africa “wants our presence…we need to respond positively to the messages that reach us from the continent,” Tajani stated.
“If we fail to respond, Africans will look to other actors like China, Russia and Iran…it’s down to us Italians to want to be the top interlocutors,” Tajani said.
