Date: Saturday, 27 October 2018
The preparatory meeting at the Italy-Africa Conference of Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi with his counterparts in Eritrea and Ethiopia, Osman Saleh and Workneh Gebeyehu, testifies Italy's willingness to continue to support the process of peace and integration in the region of the Horn of Africa. There are numerous initiatives on the table, all very promising.
It is not by chance that it was Somalia, a nation that since 1991 has experienced a continuous internal division by feuds and warlords following the collapse of the Siad Barre regime, but at the same time deeply linked to Eritrea and all Ethiopia of immense historical and cultural aspects, one of the main themes that the three ministers wanted to deal with during their meeting. First Enzo Moavero reiterated Italy's desire to support economic growth and sustainable development in both Eritrea and Ethiopia, with a structured strategy that aims to encompass numerous sectors and initiatives.
The first thing is cooperation in the field of industrial development and investment, with targeted projects in particular on infrastructure in order to benefit the links between the two countries, but another aspect is also the production of energy from sustainable and renewable sources, of which both countries are very rich. For example, the immense resources in the field of geothermal energy should not be forgotten, on which Italy has an ultra-competitive experience, and talking about connections should not neglect the equally proven ability of our country in the realization of complex and daring infrastructural works, of which also Eritrea can provide a testimony with the incredible bridges of the railway between Asmara and Massaua, and so on.
Another aspect is the need to strengthen the commercial links between Italy, Eritrea and Ethiopia, also in view of a future project aimed at creating an area of "free trade" that involves the entire Corno d 'area. Africa. Even in this case the benefits for the other regional actors, Djibouti and Somalia, would be simply immense and of a scope still to be calculated today as today, and such in any case to greatly enhance their strategic potential.
The third point, finally, is cultural collaboration, so as to create a greater and better mutual knowledge, an advantageous tool to better correlate the various economies with each other and at the same time prevent other possible disagreements, wanted as always happened by will of external hands. A solid and effective intervention in the field of vocational education and training can liven up all three productive sectors of the countries of the Horn of Africa, ie agriculture, industry and services, giving them new and further possibilities in terms of growth and competitiveness . This will result in better economic performance and at the same time strengthening key sectors such as health and education.
All these initiatives will constitute new and important opportunities for the young generations, who will therefore be able to find in their native countries greater opportunities for personal and professional growth, with a symmetrical reduction in a reasonable time span of the migratory phenomenon. On the other hand, emigration deprives the countries of the Horn of Africa of precious human energies, minds and arms that are both valid and capable, which can guarantee those economies and those of the future and prosperity societies. It is therefore essential to break this vicious circle, precisely by intervening directly on those countries.
Just to support all this, the three ministers have particularly focused on the indispensability of removing the sanctions that still weigh on Eritrea, wanted in 2009 and then strengthened in 2011 on the basis of accusations that have long been widely denied and in any case also made politically overcome by the events that occurred from July to today.
