A young continent that\u2019s rich in opportunities. A continent which, although affected by the same fragility as many other parts of the world, has experienced radical change and so requires a change of approach by European countries and potential partners, starting with Italy. This was Foreign Minister Emma Bonino\u2019s comment at the Africa Day celebrations held at the Foreign Ministry today, 29 May 2013, and attended by the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, and the Ambassadors of African countries to Italy. Minister Bonino was referring specifically to the potential for renewed collaboration between Italy and Africa.<\/P>
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Africa is rich in opportunities, says Bonino. It\u2019s time for a new approach. <\/STRONG><\/P> \u201cAfrica is a young continent that\u2019s rich in opportunities. Although it displays much fragility and many contradictions, we cannot go on viewing it through a lens blurred by past stereotypes. If Africa has radically changed, then Italy\u2019s approach to Africa must change radically too\u201d, observed Minister Bonino. She pointed out that this year the celebrations hold a special significance as they coincide with the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). \u201cAfrica has made enormous progress since 1963. And in the last decade in particular, it has taken an extraordinary leap forward\u201d, explained the Minister. She described 2002, the year the OAU became the African Union, as \u201ca watershed marking the start of a new era\u201d. An era in which Europe and Italy can also play their part.<\/P> An Italian development model that respects the continent\u2019s role<\/STRONG><\/P> <\/STRONG><\/P> Italy \u201ccan play a part in marrying Africa\u2019s new partnership ambitions with the European Union\u2019s choices and decisions\u201d, underscored Minister Bonino. \u201cThe complementarity between African economies and Italy\u2019s means that we can offer Africa a development model that respects the continent\u2019s future role\u201d. But, she warned, \u201cwithout teamwork and close coordination between the institutions and the private sector, we are unlikely to be effective in our relations with such a huge and complex continent\u201d. <\/P> Transition processes in North Africa at risk of exploitation<\/STRONG> <\/P> However, remarked the Foreign Minister, \u201cAfrica is a continent not just of light but also of shadows. [\u2026] The transition processes in the countries of North Africa are laden with obstacles and burdened with unknowns. [\u2026] There is also a risk of exploitation by backwards-looking forces seeking destabilisation\u201d. The repercussions of the tensions in North Africa are also affecting the countries of the Sahel, like Mali, while \u201cthe arc of instability reaching from the Atlantic to the Red Sea is a cause for concern\u201d, explained the Minister. She pointed out, however, that \u201cthis fragile region is also sending out signals of promise, and allowing us to nurture hopes for the stabilisation of the new federal Somalia\u201d. <\/STRONG><\/P> Samia Nkrumah calls on Italian businesses to act boldly and invest in Africa<\/STRONG><\/P>Signals that Europe and Italy should now act upon, with a more vigorous approach. This was the appeal voiced by Samia Nkrumah, President of the Kwame Nkrumah Pan-African Center and daughter of Ghana\u2019s Head of State, as she invited Italian companies to \u201cbe bold and innovative and come to Africa\u201d. African countries, she observed, \u201care working to strengthen their institutions and want to be active trade, business and industrial partners with the rest of the world. Especially with Europe, which is so close. Both Africa and Europe could benefit from mutual understanding and cooperation in all sectors\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A young continent that\u2019s rich in opportunities. A continent which, although affected by the same fragility as many other parts of the world, has experienced radical change and so requires a change of approach by European countries and potential partners, starting with Italy. This was Foreign Minister Emma Bonino\u2019s comment at the Africa Day celebrations […]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[31,76],"class_list":["post-16846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-approfondimenti","tag-africa","tag-ministri-precedenti"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16846\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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