A strategic mission in the field of energy, which is part of the so-called ‘Mattei Plan’ for Africa announced by the Prime Minister during her inauguration speech at the end of October in the Chamber of Deputies, and which aims to confirm the perspective as an energy hub – of gas but also green hydrogen – from the Mediterranean, a bridge between Africa and Europe.
Today and tomorrow Giorgia Meloni will be in Algeria, a country that since the beginning of the war in Ukraine has assumed an increasingly central role for Italy over the months. The recent energy agreements signed between the two countries have in fact strengthened bilateral cooperation as Algiers became Italy’s main supplier of natural gas in the first half of 2022 after the difficult, but mandatory, process of diversifying supplies induced by the conflict triggered by Russia.
A trip, that of the Prime Minister, to continue to “check” Russia. But also China. In fact, Algeria remains one of the first buyers of Russian weapons, a point on which the Italian delegation will have something to say. And, once again, Algiers continues to appear among the BRICS, an economic circuit animated mainly by Moscow and Beijing.
The Corriere della Sera quotes a source from Palazzo Chigi who sums up the objective of the two-day visit as follows: “Our relations with the country have always been excellent, today they have reached the first level of strategic scale. And Italy carries out national actions and in fact the role of an anchor that seeks to balance Algeria’s international equidistance, keeping it as closely as possible connected not only to Rome, but to the entire EU”.
During the mission – which will include, among others, the presence of the CEO of Eni, Claudio Descalzi – the official will once again see the President of the Republic of Algeria, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, with whom she already had a meeting on the 7th of November on the sidelines of the Cop27 works in Egypt shortly after his inauguration. Meloni will also have an institutional meeting with the Algerian Prime Minister Aimen Benabderrahmane, with a meeting scheduled with Italian businessmen present in Algeria (there are around 200 Italian companies with a stable presence). The Prime Minister will also visit the soldiers of a Navy ship anchored in the port of Algiers and will pay homage to the figure of Enrico Mattei with a symbolic stop at the Garden of the Italian businessman Enrico Mattei, inaugurated in the heart of the Algerian capital in November 2021 by the President of the Republic, Mattarella.
Meloni’s visit to the North African country therefore has the objective of consolidating and strengthening a partnership with a very important country for Italy on several fronts, starting precisely with energy (energy supply and diversification). Italy is Algeria’s third largest trading partner globally (first customer and third supplier), while Algeria is Italy’s leading trading partner on the African continent. The energy issue is obviously a priority, but the visit will also address other topics of great interest such as industry, innovation, start-ups and micro-enterprises. It is no coincidence that several agreements will be signed, including some new private agreements, with the government of Algiers that aim to benefit from Italy’s competence over SMEs.
In 2021, the value of Italy-Algeria trade amounted to 7.33 billion euros (5.57 billion of Italian imports and 1.76 billion of exports). Gas constitutes almost all of our imports, while Italy mainly exports machinery, refined petroleum products, chemicals and iron and steel.
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
