The ninth edition of Italy–Africa Business Week (IABW) opened at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (Farnesina), reaffirming its role as a key platform for entrepreneurs, investors, institutions and representatives of Italian and African civil society engaged in international cooperation and sustainable development. The event is organized by the “Le Réseau” Association in collaboration with the Ministry, AICS and IOM.
Business and institutional delegations from Nigeria, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Libya, Mali, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Egypt, Tunisia, Benin and Cameroon are participating with the aim of developing industrial, commercial and investment partnerships.
Opening the event, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Edmondo Cirielli reaffirmed the government’s strong belief that Africa can be “the continent of the future”, thanks to its capabilities and vast development potential. From an economic perspective, the Deputy Minister recalled that Italy has become the world’s fourth-largest exporting country and has included emerging African markets among the priorities of its export strategy. A key element of this approach is the involvement of the private sector and institutions such as CIHEAM, the international organization headquartered in Bari, whose role has become increasingly crucial within the framework of the Mattei Plan.
The following panel, entitled “Two Years of the Mattei Plan: Results and Future Directions of the Italy–Africa Partnership”, examined the main trajectories of Italy’s strategy for Africa two years after its launch. In his remarks, AICS Director Marco Rusconi emphasized that vocational training is a cross-cutting component of all projects, capable of triggering a positive circular dynamic. Training skilled workers in Africa to meet the needs of Italian companies opens the prospect that, in the future, these professionals may return to their countries of origin to create new businesses, thus generating a triple benefit for the individuals involved, for Italy, and for African countries. Rusconi also highlighted the recent strengthening of AICS’ presence in Africa, including the opening of new field offices and project offices.
Among the various events on the agenda, a roundtable on profit-oriented projects and field experience, organized by the Agency, is scheduled to take place at the Villa Aurelia Congress Centre on 5 March at 9:00 a.m. Registration is open online. All infos are available at: https://iabw.eu/
