• Africa

    Mozambique to benefit from Italy’s Mattei Plan

    European Newsdesk Posted on

    Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Mattei plan aims to work with African partners in a new model for development between Europe and Africa.

    The Italian government has identified Mozambique as one of nine priority African nations set to benefit from the Mattei Plan. As part of this initiative, Italy is already working on establishing an agri-food center in Manica province, near the city of Chimoio. This center is intended to serve as an incubator for transferring Italian agricultural technology to Mozambique. Italian Ambassador to Mozambique, Gianni Bardini, shared this information during the Italy Day celebrations at the 59th Maputo International Fair (Facim), which took place from August 26 to September 5 in the Mozambican capital as reported by “Agenzia Nova” .

    “Projects like this exemplify Italy’s commitment to cooperation with Mozambique,” Ambassador Bardini explained. He highlighted that the Mattei Plan aims to invest at least 6.5 billion euros across the African continent, including financing, donations, and loan guarantees for nine countries: Algeria, the Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, and Tunisia. Of this amount, 3 billion euros will be dedicated to mitigating the effects of climate change, while 2.5 billion euros will be directed towards development cooperation.

    According to data from the ICE Agency and Mozambique’s National Institute of Statistics (INE), Mozambique imported products worth 9.3 billion euros in 2023, marking a slight decrease of 2.1 percent compared to 2022. Italy ranks sixth among Mozambique’s major suppliers, with exports totaling 54.3 million euros. The leading Italian exports to Mozambique are vehicles (electric and mechanical), accounting for 68.5 percent of total Italian exports to the country, valued at 37.2 million euros.

    The agreement was signed by the Director General for Development Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Stefano Gatti, and the Director of International Cooperation and Development Finance at Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Paolo Lombardo, on the one hand, and by the Minister of Economy and Finance of Mozambique, Ernesto Max Elias Tonela, on the other. The signing of the agreement comes after President Nyusi of Mozambique attended the Italia-Africa Summit on 29 January this year and it took place in the margins of the visit to southern Africa (South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia) by Italian Cooperation representatives and representatives from the task force for implementation of the Mattei Plan, following up on the regional visits to East Africa and West Africa of recent months.

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