Musings From Abroad

Africa asks for more than ‘mere promises’ as Italy seeks new partnership

Published

10 months ago

January 29, 2024

Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy, on Monday announced a long-awaited plan to strengthen economic relations, develop an energy hub for Europe, and reduce immigration, while also calling for a new engagement with Africa.

More than two dozen African presidents and representatives of the European Union attended the one-day meeting, where Meloni gave a speech and announced a number of initiatives, including state guarantees and an initial commitment of 5.5 billion euros ($5.95 billion).

“We believe it is possible to envision and write a new chapter in the history of our relationship—a cooperation among equals far from any predatory imposition or charitable stance towards Africa,” Meloni said in an opening speech.

Meanwhile, Moussa Faki Mahamat, the head of the African Union Commission, expressed his wish that Africa had been consulted first, while other attendees were chilly about the idea.

“I want to insist here on the need to move from words to actions. You can well understand that we can no longer be satisfied with mere promises that are often not kept,” he said, standing alongside Meloni in Italy’s ornate Senate.

The presidents of Senegal, the Republic of Congo, Tunisia, Somalia and Kenya’s William Ruto, who has been a known critic of various “African summits” summoning the continent’s leaders, were among the African dignitaries in attendance. Forty-five African states were represented at different levels overall.

Observers have noted that Italy, with its massive debt, has little chance of competing with countries like China, Russia, and the Gulf states, all of whom are attempting to increase their influence in Africa, the continent that has the majority of the world’s natural resources.

Despite Rome’s claim of ownership of the plan, which it named after the late Enrico Mattei, who established the state oil company Eni.

Meloni stated that her government would seek assistance from the private sector and foreign organizations like the European Union.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission; Charles Michel, president of the European Council; and the head of the EU Parliament were present at the meeting, highlighting Italy’s support from the bloc.

“The Mattei Plan… fits perfectly into our European Global Gateway worth 150 billion euros. This is our plan for Africa,” von der Leyen told Monday’s gathering, referring to an infrastructure project unveiled in 2021.

Africa has remained a toast of several international interests with sessional summits like Russia-Africa, US-Africa, China-Africa, France-Africa, Saudi-Africa, Turkey-Africa, and India-Africa. It is left to be seen how much African interest these summits and relations truly address.

Related Topics:Africa Featured Italy Meloni

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Musings From Abroad

UN Security Council deliberates stance on Sudan war

Published

4 days ago

November 13, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The UN Security Council is discussing a British-drafted resolution calling on Sudan’s warring parties to stop hostilities and permit safe, quick, and unimpeded assistance supplies across borders and front lines.

The world’s largest relocation crisis began in April 2023 when the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces engaged in a power battle ahead of a planned transfer to civilian administration.

Waves of ethnically motivated violence have resulted, with the RSF mostly to blame. The RSF has blamed the action on rogue actors and denies causing harm to civilians in Sudan. Two RSF generals were named last week by a Security Council committee in the first U.N. sanctions levied during the ongoing conflict.

“Nineteen months into the war, both sides are committing egregious human rights violations, including the widespread rape of women and girls,” Britain’s U.N. ambassador, Barbara Woodward, told reporters at the start of this month as Britain assumed the Security Council’s presidency for November.

“More than half the Sudanese population are experiencing severe food insecurity,” she said. “Despite this, the SAF and the RSF remain focussed on fighting each other and not the famine and suffering facing their country.”

According to diplomats, Britain wants to vote on the draft resolution as soon as possible. A resolution must receive nine votes or more to pass and not be vetoed by the United States, France, Britain, Russia, or China.

Nearly 25 million people, or half of Sudan’s population, require aid, according to the U.N., since 11 million people have abandoned their homes and famine has spread to displacement camps. Of those, around 3 million have departed for other nations.

In its draft language, Britain “demands that the warring parties immediately cease hostilities” and “demands that the Rapid Support Forces immediately halt its offensives” throughout Sudan.

It also “calls on the parties to the conflict to allow and facilitate the full, safe, rapid, and unhindered crossline and cross-border humanitarian access into and throughout Sudan.”

Additionally, the draft urges that assistance deliveries continue to be made through the Adre border crossing with Chad “and stresses the need to sustain humanitarian access through all border crossings, while humanitarian needs persist, and without impediments.”

Sudanese authorities have permitted the U.N. and relief organisations to enter Darfur through the Adre border crossing for three months, ending in mid-November.

Musings From Abroad

South Africa worry Trump’s victory might affect climate fight

Published

1 week ago

November 10, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

South Africa’s environment minister has expressed concern about the potential effects of Donald Trump’s victory on climate change negotiations.

The demise of Germany’s coalition government this week and Trump’s election coincide with COP29 negotiations to address global warming, which experts credit for this year’s devastating hurricanes, floods, and heatwaves.

“We are concerned about America because we don’t know what they’re going to do … how (it) is going to approach COP,” South African Environment Minister Dion George told Reuters.

“Mr. Trump said that he would withdraw from the Paris Agreement, but we don’t know what will happen,” George added in a telephone interview on Friday.

International partners are concerned that the prospect of an administration led by Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, will de-motivate poor and middle-income countries who want rich nations to shoulder more of its financial burden.

South Africa, which is one of the world’s top 15 greenhouse gas emitters and accounts for 30% of the continent’s emissions, has accepted $11.6 billion from rich nations, mainly in loans, for a switch from coal to renewable energy.

This is seen as a potential model for other ‘Global South’ countries who say financing pledges of $100 billion, which took years to come through, are insufficient.

“It’s certainly not enough. We need another target,” George said. “But then the question is: as the voter base is shifting in developed economies, are they actually going to pay it?”

The South African minister said he had been reassured by German officials that Europe’s stance at the COP29 climate talks will not be hurt by Berlin’s political crisis.

George said that Jennifer Morgan, Germany’s state secretary for international climate action, had contacted him to say it will be up to the European Union to maintain leadership.

“Their position is not changed and that is how they will approach COP,” George said, adding: “They’re on Team Europe. The European Union and German have clearly set out their objectives.”