Meloni challenges Europe’s ‘paternalistic’ cooperation with Africa in Mozambique

The head of the Italian government, Giorgia Meloni, defended this Friday in Maputo that Europe should abandon “paternalistic” cooperation with Africa and help countries take advantage of local resources, namely local processing of raw materials.

“Today, the Italian government believes that energy is becoming an increasingly decisive sector, especially in the strategic partnership between Europe and Africa. In my opinion, we must move away from those forms of cooperation of the past that advocated a very paternalistic approach. not something that is useful for building strong and lasting relationships,” Meloni said after a meeting with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi.

“It’s about finding long-term investments that can benefit all the participants that bring different countries together, and energy is one of those factors,” he said, recalling that Africa is “a major producer of any type of energy.” And that Italy, like the rest of Europe, “from moment to moment” found itself “in a difficult situation with energy supply” due to the conflict in Ukraine.

He therefore argued that “it is possible to build a new relationship between the two continents” and that the focus should be on processing their raw materials in their respective African countries: “And yet they prosper with the resources they have.”

He also noted that agricultural production in Africa should be a priority for European countries.

After meeting with the Mozambican head of state, the President of the Italian Council of Ministers also acknowledged that “more needs to be done” in relations between the two countries, focusing on areas other than natural gas.

“Mozambique is a country with enormous potential and prospects, which plays a very important role in geostrategic terms,” said Georgia Meloni, hoping that natural gas resources – Italian oil company Eni is exploring one such area in the north of the country – will be “a huge opportunity for Mozambique” and to “strengthen” relations between the two countries.

During this several-hour visit to Maputo, the head of the Italian government is accompanied by the head of the Italian oil company Eni, Claudio Descalzi, a company that is celebrating its 70th anniversary and is looking for alternative sources of natural gas supplies. in Africa.

Eni, the concessionaire for Zone 4 Rovuma, is already in discussions with the Mozambican government to develop a second floating platform, a copy of the first and named Coral Norte, to increase gas production, the Italian oil company said.

“Eni has completed the Development Plan, which is currently being discussed with partners and the Government of Mozambique for final approval. At the same time, Eni is moving forward with acquisition processes, environmental impact studies, etc., including related drilling contracts.” This was reported by an official source of the Italian oil company interviewed by Lusa.

This plan includes, among other things, the acquisition of a second FNLG floating platform for the Coral North region, identical to the one that has been producing gas in the Coral South region since mid-2022.

“Eni is working to develop Coral Norte through a second FLNG in Mozambique, leveraging the experience and lessons learned from the Coral Sul FLNG, including those related to costs and timing,” added the same oil company source, the delegated operator of the consortium.

Zone 4 is managed by Mozambique Rovuma Venture (MRV), a joint venture jointly owned by ExxonMobil, Eni and CNPC (China), which holds a 70% stake in the concession contract.

Galp, Kogas (South Korea) and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (Mozambique) each own 10% of the shares.

A previously published document prepared by the Mozambican firm Consultec for the oil company Eni indicates that it is an investment of seven billion dollars (6.3 billion euros), subject to approval by the Mozambican government.

If the schedule goes as planned, the platform will begin production in the second half of 2027, meaning it could begin even earlier than onshore projects, which are subject to security implications from the armed insurgency in Cabo Delgado.

Coral Norte will be located 10 km north of the Coral Sul field, which began production in November last year, becoming the first project to tap large reserves in the Rovuma Basin.