A report published on the RAI News website indicates that during the meeting, scheduled for this Friday afternoon at the Addis Ababa Convention Center, Meloni will discuss with African leaders the Italian strategy of the Mattei Plan, which has already mobilized some 1.4 billion euros.

This is a program designed to strengthen ties between this European nation and the African continent, as part of the efforts aimed at countering the economic presence in that region of the world of other international actors, particularly China and Russia.

This is the second meeting of its kind, following the one held in Rome in January 2024.

The nine African countries that initially participated in this initiative—Algeria, Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, and Tunisia—were joined in 2025 by Angola, Ghana, Mauritania, Senegal, and Tanzania.

The Italian government’s objective is to further expand the Mattei Plan this year, with projects focused on education, health, agriculture, water resources, energy, infrastructure, and the development and application of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the statement notes.

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