This site uses technical (necessary) and analytics cookies.
By continuing to browse, you agree to the use of cookies.

Tajani: “Africa is a priority for Italy”. The area meeting of the Ambassadors and Directors of Italian Cooperation in Southern Africa organised in Cape Town

The area meeting of the Ambassadors and Directors of the Italian Development Cooperation Agency (AICS) offices in Southern Africa will take place on 6 and 7 July in Cape Town, focusing on the prospects for further strengthening Italian action in the region in the framework of the Mattei Plan.

Referring to the Italy-Africa Summit and the Mattei Plan as concrete examples of the Italian government’s commitment to the African continent, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tajani commented: “Since the beginning of my mandate, I have placed Africa among the strategic priorities of our foreign policy: it is a continent where we can aspire to play a relevant role. Our area meetings precisely lay the foundations for strengthening Italy’s relations with the various African States.”

Upon Minister Tajani’s instructions, the meeting will be chaired by the Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Riccardo Guariglia, as on the occasion of the previous ones held in Dar es Salaam on 16-17 March (devoted to East African countries) and in Abidjan on 4-5 May (devoted to West African countries).

It will be attended by the Ambassadors in Brazzaville (Republic of Congo), Harare (Zimbabwe), Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Luanda (Angola, Sao Tome), Lusaka (Zambia and Malawi), Maputo (Mozambique, Eswatini and Botswana) and Pretoria (South Africa, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius and Namibia), as well as the AICS Directors responsible for the region (Maputo, Nairobi and Niamey).

The first session will be devoted to the prospects for Italian action in Southern Africa, which aims to launch major development projects with a “partnership of equals” approach, while the second session will focus on the contribution of the new strategy of Italian Cooperation in Africa to the success of the Mattei Plan.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Secretary General Guariglia will meet Zane Dangor, Secretary General of the local Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation, for bilateral consultations and an exchange of views on the main regional and international issues.