After the summit

Meloni: Italy will play its part on Sudan, Trump ahead on Africa. No EU counter-proposal on Ukraine

Council President after the South African G20: US committed to the continent, will not back down

from our correspondent Alberto Magnani

23 November 2025

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Johannesburg - Donald Trump "will not backtrack" on Africa in his year as G20 chair, but Italy may insist on the issue of debt resolution for the continent's governments.

An effort that adds up to some role on the conflict in Sudan, where the priority remains a 'ceasefire' on a humanitarian disaster that has so far cost over 12 million displaced persons and tens of thousands of victims.

This was said by the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, responding to a question from the Sole 24 Ore after the close of the G20 summit in South Africa and the tensions that pervaded the summit between Pretoria and Washington.

The US unknown and the Sudan emergency

The United States has boycotted the summit in controversy over 'anti-white' laws and alleged 'Christian genocide' in Africa's most industrialised economy, a rupture that could be exacerbated after the approval of a document that insists on hostile strands for the White House such as the climate crisis and financial reform.

The United States will take over the presidency of the G20 in 2026, but Meloni seems confident of some continuity with the line drawn in Pretoria. "I have no reason to believe that there is a willingness to take steps backwards on the part of the US administration," she said, citing Washington's involvement even in key projects on the Rome-Brussels axis such as the Lobito Corridor.

The approach, Meloni said, 'has not changed'. As Il Sole 24 Ore had learned, the US had also contemplated a presence at the summit between Mattei Plan and Global Gateway in June 2024, which was also punctuated by announcements on the Angolan infrastructure itself.

As for Sudan, 'Italy can play an important role and is doing so. The important thing is to have clear objectives,' Meloni said, 'First a ceasefire and humanitarian aid access, then the rest. The topic, Meloni added, will not, however, be dealt with specifically at the summit between the European Union and the African Union in the pipeline on 23 and 24 November in Luanda (Angola).

"You cannot talk about development without talking about Africa," Meloni said, declaring that the Twenty summit found Italy "at ease" on some of the key points of the document launched on 22 November such as alleviating the debt crisis and controlling mineral resources.

During the summit Meloni held bilateral talks with, among others, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and two very active leaders on a continental scale such as Turkish President Recep Erdogan and Indian leader Narendra Modi. With Abiy, Meloni told reporters, they talked about the relations marked by the so-called Mattei Plan and the next Italy-Africa summit that should be held in Addis Ababa in 2026. The exact dates are not known.

Ukraine: Trump willing, not to counter EU proposal on peace plan

Meloni, who had just returned from a phone call with US President Donald Trump, then said she had found 'readiness' from the US on the Ukrainian issue and was hostile to a European counterproposal to the tycoon's 28-point plan: 'There are points that can be shared,' she said, being critical of Moscow's responses. "The real point," he said, "is that to date the pressure has brought maximum willingness on the part of Ukraine, maximum willingness on the part of Europe, zero willingness on the part of Russia.

Alberto MagnaniCorrispondente
- @AlbMagna17
Luogo: Nairobi
Lingue parlate: inglese, tedesco
Argomenti: Lavoro, Unione europea, Africa
Premi: Premio "Alimentiamo il nostro futuro, nutriamo il mondo. Verso Expo 2015" di Agrofarma Federchimica e Fondazione Veronesi; Premio giornalistico State Street, categoria "Innovation"
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