Mattarella in Côte d'Ivoire: Mattei plan joint work

A new mission to Africa for Mattarella, who will visit two countries, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana (until 6 April). Today was his first stop in Abidjan and a face-to-face meeting with President Ouattara. In his talks, the Head of State addressed the most urgent and riskiest issues for international security and then addressed the overall context with a medium to long-term vision of relations between Italy - and Europe - and Africa. First of all, the Mattei Plan, set up by the Meloni government on which there was great agreement between the two presidents in their appreciation and the need to support it. "We must give new impetus to the collaboration with the Italian government led by Mrs. Meloni. At the first Italy-Africa summit, the Mattei plan was launched on several sectors including education, health, food training, energy and infrastructure,' commented Ouattara, who went into more detail on the collaborations currently active. "There are already 80 Italian companies and we are very happy about the collaboration with Eni, which has discovered new fields.

Words of great care that Mattarella appreciated. 'Thank you,' he said, 'for mentioning the Mattei Plan, which must be a tool for working together for the development of the African continent. We count a lot on collaboration for concrete initiatives. A common future based on the need for partnership, equality and respect'. But the Head of State wanted to focus on the 'great collaboration in the energy sector thanks to the joint action of Eni and Petroci, with the discovery of two very large deposits that will allow Côte d'Ivoire to be a protagonist in terms of energy for the future'. A pact that is becoming even closer, therefore, after 'the discovery and start-up last year of the utilisation of the Baleine field, which was joined by the Calao one,' he added, 'is of great importance in our collaboration, but we intend to extend it to other sectors and other areas.

At the centre of the talks, however, was above all the alarming picture in the Middle East and the fuse that can be triggered in Africa, as President Ouattara emphasised, sharing Mattarella's considerations. "We are concerned," said the Head of State, "about the situation in the Middle East: after the shameful day of 7 October, a day of shame, with Hamas attacks against defenceless citizens, children, women and the elderly, and then with Israel's reaction with very serious suffering for the population of Gaza. A condition that risks creating obstacles rather than facilitating Israel's security perspective and the possibility of building a Palestinian state, for which only the two peoples two states solution remains'.

Finally, still looking at the international context, Mattarella wished to point out his appreciation 'for the Ivory Coast's position after Russia's aggression against Ukraine, fully in line with UN values and principles'. Earlier in the morning, among other things, the Head of State had sent a message on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Atlantic Treaty, which 'has proved equal to the challenges it has had to face; it has shown the ability to adapt to changing times and threats; it has been able to expand the range of collaborations with a growing number of countries and multilateral organisations; it has played a role of stability in international relations'.