Africa today is a “continent of opportunity”, an area “destined to achieve interesting growth rates,” said the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Paolo Gentiloni opening a conference held today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs entitled “Migrations and International Relations. The Italy-Africa Agenda”, organised by the Piedmont Centre for African Studies together with the Institute of International Affairs (IAI). “Italy has a great opportunity to contributing to assure that the faltering continent moves in the right direction,” said Gentiloni, who reiterated that the Italy-Africa agenda is “a central theme in our foreign policy strategy”.
The African continent “needs infrastructure, energy – particularly from renewable energy sources – focus on small and medium sized companies and agriculture, political stabilisation, social development and the empowerment of women,” said the Italian Foreign Minister. According to the Minister, these are “difficult prospects but within Africa’s reach, to which Italy wants to make its utmost contribution”, also through a “ministerial conference in Rome next May”…“because we consider it to be a cornerstone of our strategy”.
