Gaza: the core issue. Remarks by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal highlighted a convergence of views.
- In his opening message, Tajani reiterated Italy’s commitment to a ceasefire, releasing hostages and humanitarian access, with the long-term goal of a two-state solution.
- Turki al-Faisal, a member of Med-Or’s International Board, called the Palestinian issue a threat to Mediterranean security and denounced the international community’s failures on Gaza.
- Between the lines: Former German defence minister Thomas de Maizière acknowledged Israel’s right to respond to the October 7 attacks by Hamas, but stressed that the Netanyahu government’s disproportionate operations have fueled new escalations in Lebanon, Yemen and Iran.
Security and migration. During the Med-Or’s meeting, the security dimension was defined as a crucial factor for the prosperity and development of the wider Mediterranean region.
- On migration, Tajani stressed in Palermo that the Mediterranean must no longer be associated with deaths at sea.
- Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi stressed the link between security and migration, noting how non-state actors and geopolitical pressures in Africa directly affect migration routes.
- He underlined that the Mattei Plan aims to transform the Mediterranean and Africa into areas of cooperation and development, addressing the root causes of migratory flows.
- In this framework, Piantedosi highlighted Med-Or’s role as a strategic support in shaping effective and sustainable policies
- This is where the Mattei Plan comes in: shifting from emergency management to structured cooperation with the countries on the southern shore.
The value of interconnections. Italy’s Africa strategy, named after Enrico Mattei, revolves around comprehensive regional stabilisation. Italy aims to act as Europe’s energy and growth hub, relaunching the Imec corridor (India–Middle East–Europe), which Ambassador Francesco Maria Talò describes as a “connectivity network” with geopolitical and commercial value.
- The logic is that fostering trade and infrastructure will reduce conflict, replacing deterrence with economic diplomacy. Scientific, cultural, and innovation diplomacy will be added as stability instruments.
What we’re watching: The Foundation, led by Marco Minniti, underlined the centrality of the wider Mediterranean as a crossroads of tensions and opportunities.
- Many Med-Or speakers reiterated the underlying logic of using economic diplomacy as a security vector and complementing it with scientific, climate, cultural, innovation, and human capital diplomacy.
