ROME — Italy’s government says the Mattei Plan for Africa has entered its “maturity” phase, pointing to an expanded group of partner countries, a fully operational financial architecture and stronger cooperation with the European Union and international financial institutions.
Testifying before the joint Foreign Affairs and Defence committees of Parliament on the Plan’s third annual implementation report, Fabrizio Saggio, coordinator of the Mattei Plan Mission Structure, said the initiative’s third year is delivering measurable results on the ground.
- The hearing also outlined Rome’s strategy to consolidate the Plan through new financial instruments, multilateral partnerships and a broader international dimension.
Why it matters: The government is presenting the Mattei Plan as moving from its launch phase to full implementation.
- Rome is seeking to deepen cooperation with European partners, international financial institutions and third countries.
- The focus is shifting from project design to mobilising capital and delivering investments.
- Water, vocational training and critical minerals are set to become the Plan’s main priorities over the next year.
The big picture: “We are in the Plan’s third year of implementation. It is the year I would define as one of maturity: measurable results on the ground, a well-defined financial architecture and consolidated international cooperation, especially with the European Union and the main international financial and development institutions,” Saggio told lawmakers.
- According to Saggio, the Plan has expanded from the initial nine partner countries to 18, “in line with the incremental approach promoted since the strategy’s inception.”
- He also said the Italian Climate Fund’s Technical Committee has approved 15 projects in Africa since its establishment, including €1 billion over the past twelve months.
Zoom in: The Plan’s international dimension. Saggio described the second Italy-Africa Summit, held in Addis Ababa on 13 February 2026, as “a key milestone for the Plan’s maturity and a confirmation of the validity of the approach towards the African continent.”
- He noted that the summit followed the first Italy-Africa Summit in January 2024, the June 2025 Mattei Plan–Global Gateway Summit in Rome — which resulted in 11 operational agreements worth around €1.2 billion in financing and guarantees — and the Italian prime minister’s participation as guest of honour at the 39th Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union.
- Saggio also pointed to an explicit reference to the Mattei Plan in the declaration on international partnerships adopted at the G7 summit in Evian, alongside expanding triangular cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, Denmark, France, Germany and several Asian countries.
Follow the money. A central element of the hearing was the financial architecture supporting the Plan.
- “Our debt conversion effort responds to the need to transform financial liabilities into real investments in human capital and infrastructure,” Saggio said, announcing the launch of the conversion of around €269 million in bilateral credits owed to Italy by low- and middle-income African countries into jointly agreed development projects.
- He also highlighted the operational rollout of the Mattei Plan and Rome Process Financing Facility with the African Development Bank, which currently includes 15 projects worth more than €100 million, together with the Growth and Resilience Platform for Africa (GRAF), managed by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the Africa Plafond allowing CDP to commit up to €500 million of its own resources, and SIMEST’s Africa Measure, which provides more than €100 million for Italian SMEs.
Between the lines: Saggio said cooperation with international financial institutions is generating a significant leverage effect.
- He cited around €4 billion in guarantees mobilised through SACE, as well as more than €550 million in projects developed with the World Bank, including the ASCENT programme in Mozambique and budget support operations in Kenya and Ethiopia.
- He also pointed to nearly €200 million in projects with the African Development Bank, including the Lobito Economic Corridor Development initiative in Angola, describing them as strategic partnerships that combine co-financing with the mobilisation of additional resources.
What we’re watching: “Over the next twelve months, the Mattei Plan’s activities in Africa will continue with particular attention to water, vocational training and critical minerals,” Saggio said.
- He added that the government aims to launch at least another €500 million in financing for projects in the energy, water and infrastructure sectors during the second half of 2026, “based on the requests we are receiving from the African continent.”
- On water — identified by the African Union as a continental priority for 2026 and adopted as one of the Plan’s thematic priorities — Saggio cited ongoing support for Morocco’s National Water Strategy, Tunisia’s TANIT project for the reuse of treated wastewater in irrigation and the PASEL programme in the Republic of the Congo.
- On vocational training, he highlighted the Enrico Mattei Centre in Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria, the Integrated Multifunctional Technology Centre in Mograne, Tunisia, and the renewable energy training centre in Morocco developed with Fondazione Enel, RES4Africa and Mohammed VI Polytechnic University. According to Saggio, the model has since been extended to Kenya and South Africa and has already trained more than 500 professionals from over 20 countries.
The bottom line: The hearing portrays the Mattei Plan as entering a more consolidated phase, marked by a broader geographic reach, operational financial instruments and expanding international partnerships.
- The government’s next priorities are centred on plans to mobilise additional financing by the end of 2026.
