Il Presidente del Consiglio, Giorgia Meloni, interviene al Convegno “Laying the Groundwork for Jobs in Africa: Core Infrastructure & Business Environments”. L’evento si svolge a Roma, presso la sede centrale della Banca d’Italia a Palazzo Koch.
Good evening.
Governor Panetta, President Banga, President Shanmugaratnam, Authorities,
Well, despite the difficult days we are facing, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to close this debate dedicated to a topic that I consider crucial not only for the future of Africa, but for the future of the entire Europe: the construction of the physical and intangible infrastructure that makes growth, enterprise, and employment possible.
The title of this event – “Laying the Groundwork for Jobs” – recalls a simple yet, incredibly, often forgotten truth: jobs are not created, let’s say, by a simple decree. They are created where favorable conditions exist. Where there is physical and digital infrastructure, reliable energy, trained human capital, solid institutions, clear rules, and access to finance.
It is this simple premise that drives Italy’s actions, both at home and, obviously, internationally, particularly with regard to the African continent. We have implemented this through the Mattei Plan, an investment program in African countries that outlines a strategy of cooperation, but cooperation among equals, built on a clear vision: to help create the structural conditions for the development of production chains, strong local businesses, and stable and dignified employment in African nations. So that Africa can grow and prosper by processing its resources, cultivating its land, and making the most of its human capital.
In this process, collaboration with the World Bank has been and continues to be increasingly central. With President Banga—whom I really would like to sincerely thank for his clarity and readiness in working together—we have engaged in an intense and concrete dialogue from the outset. We share a fundamental approach to this common goal: putting the private sector at the center of development, mobilizing capital, reducing investment risk, and strengthening the institutional capacities of partner nations. The World Bank is a key player in building business-friendly environments, regulatory reform, and strengthening economic institutions. The Italian government, through the Mattei Plan, is a partner in this mission, wants to be a partner in this mission.
One of the most concrete signs of this collaboration in recent months has been the opening of the International Finance Corporation office in Rome. The permanent presence of the International Finance Corporation in our capital is not merely symbolic. It is a strategic choice. It means creating an operational bridge between the Italian production system, African markets, and the financial instruments of the World Bank Group. It means facilitating encounters between companies, investors, and bankable projects. It means strengthening the ability to mobilize private capital towards initiatives with a high impact on employment.
We want Rome to become a European hub for investment in Africa, a place where the public and private sectors work together to turn good ideas into jobs. Because for us, again, jobs are key. Decent, stable, quality jobs. Jobs that enable young Africans to build their future in their own homeland.
Africa is the youngest continent in the world, with 60% of its population under the age of 25. Every year, millions of young people enter the labor market. If we do not create adequate opportunities, there is obviously a risk of exclusion, instability, and forced migration. But if we invest seriously in energy, infrastructure, agriculture, and technical and vocational training, we can transform the demographic dynamic into an extraordinary lever for development.
The Mattei Plan focuses precisely on these strategic areas.
First: energy. As Enrico Mattei said, “there is no work without business, there is no business without energy.” Investing in networks, production capacity, and renewable sources means creating jobs immediately and, at the same time, enabling the growth of entire supply chains. We are at the forefront of this effort with the World Bank through the Mission 300 project, which aims to reach over 300 million African citizens by 2030 with new electricity infrastructure.
Second: agriculture. Although Africa has a very large share of the planet’s arable land, it still imports a significant proportion of its food. Improving agricultural productivity, developing local processing, and strengthening value chains means generating millions of jobs, especially for young people and women.
Third: training and skills. Physical infrastructure must go hand in hand with human capital infrastructure. To this end, the Italian government is working on technical and vocational training programs, in collaboration with local businesses and institutions, to align the skills of young people with the real needs of the market. One example is the commitment to establish pan-African training centers for agriculture and water resource use in Algeria and Tunisia, and for training in renewable energy in Morocco.
Fourth: regulatory environment and access to finance. Here, once again, collaboration with the World Bank is essential. Reforms that simplify procedures, strengthen legal certainty, combat corruption, and improve access to credit for SMEs are essential conditions for attracting large-scale investments.
In essence, we believe that the effectiveness of cooperation is measured not by good intentions, but by the concrete results it achieves in terms of jobs created, businesses supported, and investments mobilized. This is our approach, and we believe it should also be the approach that Europe and the West take towards Africa. Less fragmentation, more coordination; less rhetoric, more construction sites; fewer promises, more innovative and concrete financial instruments. Less charity, more development.
The collaboration with the World Bank and the IFC shows that it is possible to create a system. Pooling public resources, technical expertise, and private capital to reduce perceived risk and increase real impact.
And our method is not based on the arrogance of those who impose pre-established models from above, regardless of the demands of the African peoples, but rather by sharing solutions and the way to implement those solutions.
This is the model we are following, the path we are taking. To build partnerships based on mutual respect, transparency, and shared responsibility in a win-win approach. Because when a young African finds employment and can choose to contribute to the land where he was born and raised, we are not only helping the development of a nation. We are strengthening stability, we are combating the causes of forced migration, we are imagining a more balanced relationship between Africa and Europe, we are investing in the common future of our societies.
And it is a model that is attracting interest and increasing involvement, as demonstrated recently by the success of the Italy-Africa Summit in Addis Ababa. But our work has only just begun. We intend to continue it with even greater effectiveness, involving more and more nations, speeding up the implementation of projects, and further strengthening multilateral financial leverage.
Today, the Mattei Plan directly involves 14 African nations, and in 2026 we will extend our strategy to four more: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Gabon, and Zambia.
We know it is a demanding challenge, but we are not lacking in determination. Above all, we know that on this ambitious journey we can always count on the concrete collaboration of the World Bank, which has embraced our vision from the outset and has never failed to provide its valuable contribution.
So, thank you again, President Banga, for the work done so far, but moreover for the work we will do together in the future.
Thank you all.
Rispondi