During a parliamentary hearing on November 4 before the joint Foreign Affairs and Defense committees of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, Fabrizio Saggio, Coordinator of the Mission Structure for the implementation of the Mattei Plan, outlined a detailed assessment of the first three years of activity, emphasizing procedural rigor, complementarity between bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, and the strategic value of major infrastructure projects.
The big picture: Rigorous transparency and resource governance. The allocation of resources from the Italian Climate Fund earmarked for Africa follows a structured, rigorous, and transparent decision-making process subject to regulatory oversight, starting with the Court of Auditors.
- International standards: Cassa Deposits and Loans (CDP), acting as the manager, adopts procedures and criteria comparable to those of the EIB, EBRD, and major multilateral development institutions, while utilizing independent external advisors.
- Institutional visibility: Key information regarding Mattei Plan decisions and projects is published on a dedicated webpage on the government’s website. With 76 cooperation projects launched across 18 partner African nations over the past three years, the Plan is recognized internationally, having been included by the French-presided Evian G7 among the main development partnerships with Africa.
Between the lines: Multilateral synergy and major infrastructure. Italy’s strategy integrates bilateral diplomacy with the strength of multilateral instruments to generate a powerful leverage effect.
- Financial complementarity: Saggio highlighted that partnering with international financial institutions and creating innovative financial tools—such as the Financing Facility established with the African Development Bank and participation in initiatives like “Mission 300” to bring electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030—enable undertakings that no single nation could achieve alone.
- The Lobito Corridor: Italy stands out as the only European nation directly participating in the development of this strategic infrastructure axis (connecting Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zambia across energy, transport, and industrial sectors), which is poised to transform the entire region.
Why it matters: Conceived as a strategy of national interest, the Mattei Plan combines development cooperation, private sector mobilization, and partnerships with international financial institutions to deliver concrete benefits to the “Sistema Italia.”
- By fostering the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as major corporations, the initiative reinforces Italy’s geopolitical positioning within major international organizations while boosting national exports and employment.
