'Italian cooperation for sustainable development in Africa'

Italian international cooperation in Africa aims to strengthen support for sustainable development and create opportunities for growth, Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told African ambassadors accredited to Italy on Tuesday, Azernews reports, citing ANSA.

"The World Bank has predicted that climate change could cause 86 million internal migrants in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2050," said Tajani.

Faced with this prospect, the goal of Italian cooperation initiatives "is to strengthen support for the sustainable development of this region, financing projects for clean energy, biodiversity protection and climate resilience", he continued.

However, the foreign minister said Italy anso wants to "facilitate partnerships with and between the countries of the region, involving the private sector and creating opportunities for growth, enterprise and trade".

"Right now, the strategic priorities for Africa are adaptation to climate change, access to clean energy and conservation of natural resources," said Tajani, adding that, according to World Bank estimates, the region has a photovoltaic energy potential of 10 Terawatts and a wind energy potential of 110 Terawatts, only 1% of which had been exploited as of year end 2020.

To harness the untapped potential greater investment and attention from international financial institutions are required, he added.

Meanwhile, Tajani said Italy is playing its part.

"50 projects have been approved for Africa and the MENA region, with a preference for Africa, with a total of over 120 million in grants," said the minister.