(Adnkronos) – Italy’s 5.5 billion euro Mattei Plan to spur Africa’s economic growth and help stabilise the continent and curb migration marks “the beginning of a new political season,” foreign minister Antonio Tajani said during a visit to Mauritania on Tuesday.
“This is the beginning of a new political season which, as part of the Mattei Plan, aims to ensure that Italy has an increasingly strong presence in this area of Africa and throughout sub-Saharan Africa,” he said after talks with Mauritania’s president Mokhtar Ould Diay.
Mauritania is a country that is “crucial to Italy’s interests, to the stability of the sub-Saharan area, to combating illegal immigration and terrorism, but also to propelling growth and increasing the presence of Italian companies, Tajani said.
Thanks to its stability and wealth of raw materials, Mauritania offers “fertile terrain” and Italy’s companies will increasingly invest in the country,” Tajani stated.
“This African nation has great potential and we hope to strike ‘win-win’ raw materials deals here,” Tajani told reporters.
Italy must help with the recovery and extraction of raw materials, process them locally and then purchase and transport them to Italy, Tajani said.
“This is a win-win agreement for everyone; it is a mindset that is – let’s put it this way – different from the neo-colonial one.”
