Policy Updates

On November 25, 2024, AOI, the network of the major NGOs working in international cooperation, published a report marking one year since the official launch of the Mattei Plan,.

The report highlighted the Mattei Plan's major issues:

• Resource constraints: The EUR5.5 billion (US$6 billion) allocated to the Mattei Plan are mainly derived from existing funds. AOI denounces the lack of additional investment and recalls the importance of allocating significant resources to address African challenges;
• Assistance reduction: In 2023, Italy cut bilateral funds for African countries by 32% and humanitarian assistance by 36%, starkly contrasting the continent's growing needs; and
• Migration: AOI  called the idea that more development leads to less migration into question, pointing out that migration does not necessarily decrease correlated to economic growth. Instead, the organization recommended promoting regular and well-managed migration pathways and highlighted diasporas and remittances as tools for development.

AOI outlined recommendations to improve the implementation of the Mattei Plan, including:

• Place local communities at the center of development policy;
• Implement a transformative approach to addressing gender inequality, including promoting the rights of women and girls, with a focus on SRHR and countering GBV and harmful practices such as child marriage and forced genital cutting;
• Invest in renewable energy, reducing dependence on fossil fuels;
• Improve access to clean water and sanitation, as they are crucial for health and sustainable development;
• Invest in youth training and employment;
• Ensure transparency in managing financial resources and avoid actions perceived as neocolonialist or predatory; and
• Reinforce the pivotal role of the Italian CSOs representing a strategic bridge between Italy and Africa.

On November 6, 2024, Federica Diamanti was appointed as the new Associate Vice President for External Relations at the IFAD, the world’s fund for transforming agriculture, rural economies, and food systems.

Diamanti is responsible for the fund’s public and political advocacy, including global policy engagement, partnerships, and strategic communications. She also oversees the IFAD replenishment process, whereby Members agree on priorities and targets for each three-year replenishment period.

Diamanti is an international finance and multilateral diplomacy expert with extensive experience in important forums such as the G7, the G20, and MDBs, and subsidized funds. Before joining IFAD, she was Director of Multilateral Banks and Funds at the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance.

In the past, Diamanti held the position of Executive Director for Italy, the UK, and the Netherlands at the AfDB. She distinguished herself by leading the design and implementation of the capital reform of multilateral banks within the G20, which made significant additional financial resources available for developing countries.

On October 7, 2024, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Edmondo Cirielli spoke on behalf of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the first edition of the Hamburg Conference on Sustainability, a high-level event that addressed global challenges related to sustainability.

Cirielli highlighted Italy's commitment to promoting youth entrepreneurship through the Mattei Plan for Africa, which aims to foster sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

Cirielli presented Italy's Digital Flagship with West Africa-Bankable Project Origination initiative, managed by UNDP and supported by the AICS. The project, carried out in collaboration with UNDP, aimed at the creation of digital ecosystems in Senegal, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Mozambique. Furthermore, Cirielli highlighted the AI Hub for Sustainable Development initiative, a significant project launched under the Italian G7 presidency. This initiative aims to strengthen local AI ecosystems in Africa, with a focus on crucial sectors such as agriculture, health, and energy.

Regarding funding access for youth enterprises, Cirielli highlighted Italian Cooperation's strategic partnership with the AfDB, which has launched innovative co-financing tools in recent months.

On May 23-25, 2024, the G7 Ministers of Finance met at a summit in Stresa, Italy, where the ministers voiced support for contributions to the IDA, WHO, Gavi, and the Global Fund in the resulting communiqué.

The G7 ministers supported efforts towards a successful 21^st replenishment of the IDA by the end of 2024 through an ambitious policy and financing package. Notably, they did not give a concrete signal that the critical US$100 billion threshold requested by the World Bank will be crossed, nor any indication of the US$120 billion expected by African leaders.

The ministers reaffirmed their dedication to strengthening the governance and finance of the global health architecture and voiced support for refinancing processes of several GHIs, such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the WHO, and the Global Fund, and expressed support for the Pandemic Fund. The communiqué called on the donor community to coordinate efforts and increase investments in global health in line with their capacities to ensure sustainable funding and maximize the impact of available resources.

Following the summit, the C7 pointed out the G7's lack of ambition and financial commitment to international development, including climate adaptation. International civil society organizations criticized the lack of any reference to allocating SDRs to global solidarity.

On May 14-15, 2024, the C7 summit was held at the UN FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, organized by the Italian Civil Society Coalition that led, coordinated, and moderated the C7 2024 process.

Approximately 400 global representatives took part in the event, as well as international decision-makers, including FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, Italian G7 sherpa Ambassador Elisabetta Belloni, Cardinal, President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Pope’s envoy for the Russian-Ukrainian conflict Matteo Maria Zuppi, and Director of the UN SDG Action Campaign Marina Ponti.

The official C7 communiqué that listed the international civil society recommendation to the G7’s Leaders around seven key issues was released at the event, which included:

• Economic justice and transformation;
• Climate, energy transformation, and environmental justice;
• Global health;
• Principled humanitarian assistance;
• Peace, common security, and nuclear disarmament;
• Human mobility and migration; and
• Food justice and food systems transformation.

On April 30, 2024, it was announced that, as a part of the G7 Finance Track, the Italian MEF and ISTAT will host the seventh edition of the OECD World Forum on Wellbeing, entitled Strengthening Wellbeing Approaches for a Changing World, in Rome from November 4-6, 2024.

The event is part of the G7 Finance Track promoted by the Italian government. The Forum will be structured into five round tables that will discuss topics, including:

• The development of policy frameworks oriented towards equitable and sustainable well-being;
• The measurement and statistical methodology, as well as the analysis of well-being indicators;
• Climate change;
• Technological innovation and the use of artificial intelligence; and
• The next steps in the well-being agenda.

Other topics to be addressed include gender inequalities, inequalities and poverty, physical and mental health, and the aging population.

On April 17-19, 2024, the G7's Ministers of Foreign Affairs met in Capri, Italy, and released a communiqué summarizing the intents and goals of Italy's G7 presidency.

A new meeting is planned in Fiuggi in autumn 2024. The G7 Minister of Development's meeting in Pescara is scheduled for the end of October. The Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs is committed to continually working on some of the most urgent international crises.

The G7 Ministers expressed concern about rising food insecurity and malnutrition stemming from the combined impact of climate change, loss, and degradation of ecosystems, the growing number of conflicts, inflationary pressures, and the reduced fiscal space in many developing economies.

The ministers also emphasized the importance of strengthening PPR and global health, as well as supporting LGBTQI+ rights and SRHR. The communiqué also reaffirmed the need for strengthened international financial institutions and underscore the role of MDBs in achieving the SDGs, including in crisis-affected contexts.

On April 14, 2024, the C7 published a statement ahead of the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Capri from April 17-19, 2024, where the group called on the foreign ministers to take concrete action to promote human rights as well as the common interests of humanity and the planet.

The C7 advocated that the G7 ministers reaffirm their commitment to developing long-term peace-building strategies that address persistent structural challenges at the basis of conflicts, ensure food security even in fragile settings, and address a profound transformation of food systems. The group also called upon their governmental counterparts to ensure safe and regular migration channels and commit to protecting migrant rights.

On January 28 and 29, 2024, Italy hosted the Africa-Italy Summit, chaired by the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, during which 25 African leaders and diplomats joined Italian and EU leaders to launch the pilot programs of Italy's flagship foreign policy initiative, also known as the Mattei Plan for Africa.

Meloni announced EUR5.5 billion (US$6 billion) in credits, grants, and guarantees under the plan. EUR3 billion (US$3.3 billion) will come from the Italian Climate Fund, as announced at COP28, and EUR2.5 billion (US$2.7 billion) will come from the newly created multilateral fund at the African Development Bank.

Rome identified a set of countries in the SSA and North African regions to begin implementing the plan, and noted aims to expand the list. Among the first projects announced were:

• A large vocational training center on renewable energy in Morocco;
• Education projects in Tunisia; and
• Health accessibility in the Ivory Coast.

Other projects are planned in Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, and the DRC.

Priority areas of intervention were announced as:

• Education and training: Interventions will be aimed to promote training teachers, adjusting curricula, launching new vocational and training courses in line with the needs of the labor market, and collaborating with enterprises, particularly involving Italian operators and the Italian SMEs model;
• Agriculture: Interventions will be aimed at decreasing malnutrition rates, fostering the development of agri-food supply chains, and supporting the development of non-fossil biofuels. The development of family farming, the preservation of forestry, and combating and adapting to climate change through integrated agriculture are considered fundamental;
• Health: Interventions will be aimed to promote strengthening health systems, improving accessibility and quality of primary MNCH services, strengthening local capacities for the management, training, and employment of health personnel, research, and digitalization, and developing strategies and systems to prevent and contain health threats, particularly pandemics and natural disasters; and
• Energy: Interventions will be aimed to make Italy an energy hub, acting as a bridge between Europe and Africa. Interventions will feature the climate-energy nexus to strengthen energy efficiency and the use of renewable energies, with initiatives to accelerate energy transition.
• Water: interventions will involve drilling wells powered by photovoltaic systems, maintenance of pre-existing water points, investments in distribution networks, and awareness-raising activities about using clean, potable water.

At the 174^th Session of the Council of the FAO, FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu announced the appointment of Maurizio Martina as Deputy Director-General of the FAO, replacing Deputy Director-General Laurent Thomas, who retired after more than thirty years of service with FAO.

Martina, an Italian national and former Italian Minister for Agriculture, previously worked as Assistant Director-General and Senior Advisor to the Director-General.