On Friday 20 June, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President of the Italian Council of Ministers Georgia Meloni received a series of African leaders as part of the ‘Mattei Plan’, an Italian initiative to develop infrastructure in Africa in line with the EU’s ‘Global Gateway’ strategy. Several new investment and guarantee agreements totalling €1.2 billion were signed at a mini-summit at Rome's Villa Doria Pamphili.
Three grant financing agreements worth €77 million were signed with Angola to support the development of the Lobito Corridor (see EUROPE 13558/5) linking the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to the Atlantic Ocean. In addition to developing a railway line, the agreements provide for investment in vocational training, agri-food and tourism, with the aim of maximising local economic benefits.
Joint support from the EU and Italy to extend the ‘Blue Raman’ submarine cable has been announced. Initially planned to link India to Europe via the Persian Gulf and Djibouti, this cable will now be extended to Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania, in order to better integrate East Africa into global digital markets.
Finally, a financing agreement called ‘TERRA’ (Transforming and Empowering Resilient and Responsible Agribusiness), with an EU guarantee of €110 million, was launched to support the adaptation of African agriculture to climate change. The focus will be on the coffee sector, with investment in solutions combining traditional knowledge and advanced technologies.
A ‘Europe-Africa’ summit takes shape. At a press conference on Friday, Ms von der Leyen announced that a Europe-Africa summit would be held in Luanda (Angola) at the end of November. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)