Italy announces debt-relief initiative for Africa
Italian Prime Minister Meloni on Friday announced a new initiative to address debt burdens of African countries at an international meeting held in Rome. She co-chaired the meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which was attended by representatives from some African countries and international financial institutions.
The initiative is in part intended to reduce migration from Africa to Europe by boosting economic development in African countries, highlighting an alignment between Italy’s ambitious Mattei Plan for Africa and European Union's Global Gateway investment plan, which prioritizes investment in Africa's infrastructure.
According to her, the initiative is also expected to help reduce the debt of lower-middle income African countries by 50 percent. The "shared commitments towards the African continent" presented by the EU and Italy at the meeting were worth 1.2 billion euros, according to a statement.
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