29-01-2024 | di COOPI

Open letter from the 070 Campaign ahead of the Italy-Africa Conference

Campaign 070 is the initiative promoted by Focsiv, AOI, CINI and Link 2007 which calls on the Italian government to fulfill, by 2030, the commitment made at the UN more than 50 years ago to allocate 0.7 percent of Italy's gross national income to Official Development Assistance. On the occasion of the Italy-Africa Conference to be held in Rome next Sunday, Jan. 28 and Monday, Jan. 29, the 070 campaign group wrote a letter addressing the Government.

This is an occasion, according to the intentions of the organizers, in which they want to create a win-win partnership model, far from paternalistic or predatory logics. For the members of the 070 Campaign, it is a chance to learn more about the contents and objectives of the Mattei Plan and an opportunity to be able to offer their contribution of ideas and experiences so that immediate and concrete results can be reaped.

The letter calls on the government to initiate a system of programs and projects that distinguish development cooperation, as provided for in Law 125/14 "an integral and qualifying part of Italy's foreign policy", from economic promotion, which must, however, be in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is stressed that it is important to distinguish environmental protection and adaptation to climate change from actions to promote exports, investment and supply, particularly of hydrocarbons, and the sustainable exploitation of natural resources, as the Italian government document reports. Above all, it calls for Italy, in implementing the Mattei Plan, to provide adequate resources for cooperation, starting with the immediate fulfillment of the commitment made by our country 50 years ago to devote 0.70 percent of its national wealth to Official Development Assistance (ODA), which is currently stuck at only $6 billion against the planned $13 billion. The Italian initiative, according to Campaign 070, will be fully effective if it is able to coordinate and exert strong leverage with and on EU instruments and resources as part of a new season of European development policies towards Africa and the Mediterranean.

We look forward to learning more about the contents of the Mattei Plan for Africa's development. It is a Plan that draws our attention because of the government's choice to commit itself directly to such an important and complex issue. As Campaign 070 we feel the need to offer our contribution of ideas for the success of the initiative. There are also concerns, as is normal. The concerns regards the possibility that the Mattei Plan may result in the passing of Law 125/14, if the funding provided in the Budget Law is unbalanced in favor of private business interests, thus downsizing the role and international cooperation and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS)."

underlined Ivana Borsotto, the Campaign 070 spokesperson.

Development cannot be based only on economic capital; it needs human capital, relational and social capital, as well as institutional capital. Development is the enhancement of territorial specificities. It is joint projects, in partnership. It is working in the peripheries. It is supporting the growth of local communities. It is saving biodiversity. It is promoting associationism and active citizenship. It is supporting social and indigenous peoples' movements. Italy must not settle for words without actions, actions without policies, and policies without profound changes. Our Country has this potential."

The Mattei Plan can be, therefore, an opportunityfor a renewed awareness of what international cooperation for sustainable development can be and what role it can play. The Italy-Africa Conference and the first steps of the Mattei Plan will be able to give an indication of the direction and meaning of the path taken.