First, the G20 in South Africa, which relaunched the Mattei Plan and an Italian initiative aimed at alleviating the public debt of African countries. Then the European Union-African Union Summit in Luanda, Angola. With today’s arrival in Johannesburg Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s mission to Africa officially opens. The first step was a summit of twenty of the world’s largest economies, held for the first time on the African continent and hosted at the magnificent Nasrec Expo Center, an area of approximately 420 hectares that also includes the Soccer City stadium, site of the 2010 World Cup final, and a transport hub. The city seems very closed off: between road closures and traffic disruptions, both stand out on the streets of Johannesburg manifestos of leaders, including Meloni. Heads of state who will not attend the summit, such as Trump and Putin, also stand out. Local media also reported that the protests were limited to certain areas near Nasrec.
The program
The day begins with an inaugural session at 10 am local time. The first part of the hearing, from 10.15 to 14.00, will be dedicated to inclusive and sustainable economic growth, the role of trade, development financing and debt issues. In this phase, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will speak behind closed doors and in English, followed by a luncheon and traditional family photo of the leaders. In the afternoon, from 15.00 to 18.00, the second session will be held, focusing on global resilience, disaster risk reduction, climate change, energy transition and just food systems, with a new speech by Meloni, also behind closed doors and in English. The day will end with a reception for G20 leaders, hosted by the President of the Republic of South Africa, from 18.15 to 19.30.
Topics on the table
The three G20 sessions will discuss each global economic growth, energy transition and the fight against climate changeand then focus on the file that appears: fromartificial intelligence for essential mineralsto new international disparities. Meloni will attend each session to reaffirm Italy’s commitment to Africa, proposing the Mattei Plan and measures to support development and growth, including debt reduction. The conference will also recall the results of the recent food systems summit in Addis Ababa. AI and energy will also be among the topics it will cover, with an emphasis on the need for safe and resilient supply chains. Most importantly, the absence of the United States gave rise to discussion: the White House, which denied South Africa leadership – having spoken of a possible change of heart by Donald Trump – reiterated the decision not to participate in the G20, following the tycoon’s accusations of “genocide” against South Africa. There are rumors circulating about the possibility of reaching an agreement on the draft final declaration of the leaders, but currently these rumors have not been officially confirmed.
This remains the backdrop to the Johannesburg Summit Ukrainian questionand there will be no shortage of contacts between the Italian Prime Minister and leaders interested in a solution to this crisis. Yesterday there was a telephone conversation between Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to discuss Trump’s peace plan for Kiev. In the meeting, Palazzo Chigi reported, “the importance of supporting ongoing negotiation efforts” was underlined and “the ultimate goal of achieving a just and lasting peace was reaffirmed”. In addition, the “reference to strong security guarantees, which are an integral part of the broader European and transatlantic stability framework” was welcomed positively: a principle “in line with what Italy has long proposed”, underlined by the Council Presidency. In a note, Meloni also repeated his firm condemnation of the renewed violence in Nigeria against Christians, and called on the Nairobi government to intensify efforts to protect the community.
Summit in Angola
Once the G20 concludes, the prime minister will move to Luanda to attend an EU-AU summit seen as an important step in Euro-African relations. The leaders will discuss peace and security, migration, economic development and multilateral reform, while the EU will reaffirm its role as Africa’s main investment partner: a third of the continent’s trade is with the EU, worth 366 billion euros in 2023, and European direct investment exceeds 240 billion, six times China’s direct investment. Brussels also maintains its position as a leading partner on security issues, with twelve civil and military missions deployed on the ground and more than one billion euros mobilized through the European Peace Facility, in addition to its role as a leading humanitarian donor.
Migration will be one of the most relevant documents and, according to Italian diplomatic sources, Brussels will maintain an approach based on two objectives: expanding official channels of entry and strengthening the fight against human trafficking networks, a line now shared by most member states. Also a priority is the progress of Global Gateway projects – from infrastructure to green energy, from digitalization to critical raw materials. Also discussed were the regional crisis in the Sahel, RDC-Rwanda and Sudan relations, and the impact of the war in Ukraine. (from correspondent Antonio Atte)
