Thank you very much, dear Giorgia,

Dear friends,

First of all, I appreciate your warm welcome in this beautiful part of the eternal city. We gather today to reaffirm Europe’s commitment to a partnership with Africa, and I thank Italy for prioritizing this cooperation.

The Mattei Plan exemplifies our collaborative efforts through the Global Gateway, a EUR 300 billion investment initiative by the EU, with EUR 150 billion allocated to Africa. This is Team Europe in action, demonstrating our teamwork with Africa.

I also want to thank our African partners present today as we share a common vision. We are working together to develop clean energy. Africa possesses abundant resources; however, the infrastructure is lacking. Hence, we are investing in clean energy infrastructure and modern economic corridors. Today, we discuss linking our digital markets and unlocking the food value chain, while emphasizing the need to train individuals to develop their skills.

The Global Gateway combines public and private capital along with international financing institutions, transforming our shared vision into reality.

We have a clear direction. Today is about implementation and making things happen. Thus, we are concluding several significant agreements that will attract private capital to Africa and create tangible impacts on the ground. I look forward to our discussions today.

Thank you for having me.