Rome, June 21 (UNI) Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced a new initiative to address debt burdens of African countries at an international meeting held in Rome.



Meloni co-chaired the meeting on Friday 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 with European Union's Global Gateway’ investment plan which prioritises investment in Africa's infrastructure.



"By strengthening Africa, we strengthen Europe," Meloni said.



"Africa is a continent where our future is at stake. Together we must create the conditions for our mutual stability. This summit is a fundamental step in the internationalisation of the Mattei Plan,” she added.



"The entire 10-year operation will allow us to convert some 235 million euros (USD 270.83 million) of debt into development projects to be implemented locally," Meloni said about the new initiative.



According to her, the initiative is also expected to help reduce the debt of lower-middle income African countries by 50%.



The "shared commitments towards the African continent" presented by the EU and Italy at the meeting were worth 1.2 billion euros (USD 1.38 billion), according to a statement.







UNI/XINHUA ANV ARN