• Mattarella in Parma: "The pandemic has taught us the value of science. Paradigms have changed in the EU"

  • Climate, Mattarella signs for the UN summit: "It is a key challenge of our time"

  • Mattarella: no to selfishness, but an alliance for treatments and vaccines

Share

08 October 2021 Pandemic, climate, integration. These are the themes at the center of the speech by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella who opened the event "Encounters with Africa", the third edition of the Italy-Africa Ministerial Conference which brings together delegations from 54 African countries, representatives of the African Union and of the other main African Regional Organizations, as well as a series of Italian institutional personalities, as well as representatives of the economic, business, academic and third sector worlds. This year, the appointment is part of the Italian Presidency of the G20 and focuses on its three pillars, "People, Planet, Prosperity", also connecting to the partnership with the United Kingdom for COP26.



"The political and economic center of gravity seems to be progressively shifting from the Atlantic to the Pacific and Europe and Africa must question their future and what role they are called to play", said the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, opening the meeting. 



Faced with geopolitical changes, "the European Union has begun a reflection on the objectives it intends to set itself and on what is needed to protect them, that is, to achieve true strategic autonomy. Greater responsibility does not mean isolation, on the contrary Europe aspires to be stone corner of a truly effective multilateralism, founded on universal values ​​and principles: the rule of law, freedom, democracy, equity, which offers shared solutions to problems that cannot be faced by individual countries, on pain of the irrelevance of the answers. International collaboration and dialogue - said the Head of State - they are not only a moral imperative, but a method that has fully demonstrated its effectiveness for maintaining peace ".



Fair distribution of vaccines


"Common challenges challenge us and require a common commitment starting from the health emergency. Although we are leaving behind, as we hope, the darkest period, much remains to be done. Africa, which is home to 17 percent of the population world, received only 2 percent of world vaccine production. There is therefore, first of all, a problem of equitable distribution that must be solved quickly and effectively ", said Mattarella because the pandemic will end when all the countries there 'will have exceeded. "The EU, by deciding to share 450 million doses, has taken a step in the right direction. But the real answer lies in fostering the development of an African pharmaceutical industry, which makes it possible to exploit the capacity for innovation andexperience of local researchers. In this sense goes the European initiative fully supported by Italy to invest a billion euros to encourage the production of vaccines in the African continent because no one will be out of it if we are not all out of it ", he concluded.



Act now for the climate


Much and soon more still needs to be done for the climate. In the fight against climate change "there is no longer a time for ambiguity and distinction. We need to act immediately, so as not to definitively jeopardize the quality of life and survival of future generations. In this regard, we must ensure the maximum effort to reach and exceed the emission reduction targets harmful that we have collectively hired from Tokyo to Paris. We must not get distracted ", said the president who defined COP26 as" a watershed ". The African continent must make its ancestors feel high. The production of clean energy and its distribution are fundamental for Africa ", added the head of state.



Governing the migration phenomenon


Finally, the president underlined that "the migratory phenomenon must be governed for the benefit of all. Otherwise, the reasons of humanity and state systems will be overwhelmed together". For Africa "an endogenous and integrated growth model, respectful of people and the environment, represents the best response to migratory phenomena which, if uncontrolled, risk appearing tormented and fragile remedies for population growth". And if they help the economy of the continent with remittances, "in the long run they deprive countries of energy and negatively affect development opportunities. Also in this area - Mattarella urged - the EU and Africa are called to do more, in a sincere cooperation ".



If Europe has made great and serious mistakes with Africa, today a season of loyal collaboration is opening up, with the awareness of complementarity. Africa is the natural partner for the EU. Africans and Europeans together make up a vast region, an area at the center of global dynamics. We need a spiritual twinning of the two continents. We need the elaboration of an ambitious common project: we need to trace a common path to follow together for a real qualitative leap in the sign of the green economy. The challenge is for societies as a whole. We cannot miss this opportunity ", concluded the president who addressed a thought to Luca Attanasio, ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo killed in an ambush, a symbol of spontaneous cooperation and solidarity with theAfrica and the many Italians who work daily on the continent. 



For this reason too, he explains, "there is a need for a relentless fight against terrorism and all fundamentalisms, which continue to represent a threat to our continents, to our values, to our peoples. Violent forces, even if minorities, hold entire populations hostage. Africans are at the forefront of this front. From the Sahel to the Great Lakes region, from Somalia to Mozambique, millions of women and men are oppressed by terrorist formations. Thousands of soldiers and civilians in numerous missions. the African Union and the various regional organizations are trying to oppose. Europe and Italy will continue to stand alongside the countries most exposed to the fundamentalist threat ".