Thank you, President Meloni – dear Giorgia.

Thank you for hosting us in this beautiful part of the eternal city.

Presidents, Prime Ministers,

Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,

This marks our third gathering in Italy in just over a year to strengthen our investment partnership with Africa. The collaboration between Africa and Europe has gained momentum as our interests align more than ever. Africa is a rising continent, having created 100 million new jobs over the last decade, and many more are on the horizon, spanning traditional sectors like agriculture and emerging industries such as clean energy, critical minerals, and AI. Europe aims to be your partner in this endeavor as we share common goals. We are committed to enhancing clean energy production across both continents, developing modern economic corridors, linking our digital markets, investing in health and education, and bolstering food security. Our vision is a robust African economy and a thriving European economy working in unison.

Investment is crucial for all these initiatives. Europe has established the Global Gateway investment fund, launched at the 2022 Europe-Africa Summit, with an initial commitment of EUR 150 billion for Africa. By leveraging resources from the European Union and Member States, we aim to attract private capital. While other nations are scaling back their funding, we believe its essential to encourage new investment in Africa, which benefits us both. Todays event exemplifies the success of our approach.

I extend my gratitude once more to PM Meloni for Italys vigorous mobilization through the Mattei Plan. This is Team Europe in action, and I thank our African partners for their strong cooperation over the years.

Today, we are signing several new investment agreements, channeling more private capital from Europe to Africa, involving not only Team Europe but also international financial institutions.

Let’s focus on today’s key topics. Firstly, large-scale infrastructure investment goes beyond just building railways, bridges, and dams. It encompasses training local workers, building capacity, and facilitating the transfer of expertise, resulting in positive impacts on local economies across Africa. A prime example is the Lobito corridor, launched at the G20 Summit in 2023. We mobilized investments to connect the landlocked mining regions of DRC and Zambia to the Atlantic coast of Angola. However, this corridor is not merely a railway; we are signing three financing agreements with Angola to ensure the entire economy benefits. We will fund vocational training to equip Angolans with the necessary skills for jobs created by our investments. Additionally, we will facilitate the flow of local food to national and international markets and promote tourism along the corridor, driving local growth and job creation throughout the economy.

Secondly, regarding digital connectivity, Africa has more than doubled its internet connections over the last decade, yet Sub-Saharan Africa remains the least connected region globally. Therefore, our digital investments in Africa are increasing yearly, covering everything from submarine cables to terrestrial fiber, from 5G to data centers. Today, we announce an innovative project for East Africa. The Global Gateway is supporting the Blue Raman undersea cable, a significant data connection linking India, the Gulf, and Djibouti to Europe. Together with Italy, we will finance an extension of Blue Raman from Djibouti to Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania, connecting East Africa to vast digital markets and creating a wealth of new opportunities for Africa, Europe, and beyond.

My third example of Global Gateway in action involves sustainable agricultural value chains. With 300 million Africans engaged in farming, extreme weather is causing crop yields on small African farms to decline by 3% annually. We must reverse this trend. Today, we sign a new financing agreement named TERRA, uniting public and private investments from Europe to assist African farmers in adapting to climate change. Our focus will include the coffee value chain, employing both traditional and innovative solutions, such as cultivating coffee under tree canopies and introducing new coffee varieties. This will enhance crop resilience to heat and heavy rain while preventing deforestation. This initiative serves mutual interests: millions of Africans depend on coffee exports for their livelihoods, while many jobs in Europe, especially in Italy, rely on coffee imports, home to the finest espresso in the world. Thus, this is a strategic investment for job creation on both sides of the Mediterranean, benefiting Africans and Europeans alike.

In conclusion, Global Gateway and the Mattei Plan are designed as collaborative efforts to address shared challenges and seize opportunities for all involved. Achieving this requires continuous dialogue with the private sector and, most importantly, with you, our African friends. I look forward to hearing your insights today. How can we enhance our projects? Where can we expand our cooperation? The untapped potential of our partnership is immense, and Europe stands ready to invest. In these times of global uncertainty, you can count on Europe. Thank you very much, and I eagerly anticipate our discussions.