In the Sahel, Italy looks to Niger as a strategic partner, a stable country rich in resources that it also offers excellent investment opportunities and profitable partnerships between individuals and the public, as long as "be on time". Thus the ambassador of Italy to Niamey, Emilia Cat, presents the African country to Italian companies, in an interview with AGI.
"Italy is among those countries that look with interest to the growth of this market and in general to that of the whole Sahelian area and it is my strong wish to accompany Italian companies as much as possible that want to start business in this relatively still uncontaminated context. where, however, it is necessary to arrive in time“, Highlights the high Italian diplomat.
It is therefore necessary to start partnerships to encourage business development in order to allow "strengthen the economic structure and development of Niger for the benefit of its stability, which is a primary strategic interest for Europe ”.
The starting point for the paradigm shift in looking at Niger and the Sahel region, as extensive as Europe, was, as Gatto recalls "the foresight to fill our gap in presence, promptly intercepting the growing international attention ".
Indeed, for decades the dominant narrative on the mainstream he considered Niger as a remote shore, unknown to most, which was talked about essentially due to the great cyclical famines. At that time, the Italian presence was limited to development cooperation only. For about 15 years now the Sahel has instead acquired ever greater importance as the scene of great global challenges that see Italy and various European countries - starting with the former French colonial power - essentially engaged in the front line on the fronts of security, migration and development.
"It is in fact a buffer of land between the countries bordering the southern shore of the Mediterranean and the countries of the Gulf of Guinea, from which many migrants headed for Europe come, characteristics that make the Region much closer to Europe and Italy than it seems ”, underlines the diplomat, highlighting the strategic position of Niger.
In addition to these characteristics of geographical centrality, Rome has assessed the political stability of Niger as a determining element, led by democratically elected leadership, a near-exception in the region as evidenced by the recent military coups in Burkina Faso and those of 2020-2021 in Mali. The intensification of bilateral relations between Italy and Niger has led toinauguration of an embassy in Niamey in 2017 and since then cooperation has rapidly and fruitfully strengthened and developed, also opening up to the political and military sectors.
The challenges are not lacking and to face them the Niger now looks to Italy as a "reference partner", especially in the management of migration, in the fight against the advancement of jihadist terrorism, in the containment of environmental challenges and in development.
"With our empathic approach, without hidden agendas, we can also count here, as in many other parts of the world, on an undisputed capital of sympathy with the Niger people and leadership.”Still reports the Italian diplomat.
If the president Mohamed Bazoum is a figure of recognized level and his government is made up of a cohesive and determined team, "the country definitely needs the support of the international community"To reinforce the progress achieved so far in more areas, the diplomat said. Surely the shadow of insecurity and the terrorist threat of a jihadist matrix stretches over Niger, while the regions of the capital Niamey, Agadez (Center) and Zinder (East) are to be considered areas of lesser danger. The whole national territory, on the other hand, is surrounded by highly unstable areas, which is why the Italian authorities advise against going to Niger, except for reasons of necessity or work.
"The main threats are located on the South-West and South-East borders of the country, respectively in the area of the three borders with Mali and Burkina Faso, often the scene of incursions by non-state armed groups of jihadist origin, and in the area of Lake Chad, where terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram operate ”, he added.
Another priority concern for Italy and Europe is the management of illicit trafficking and irregular migration, one of the cornerstones of the Italian-Niger cooperation. Due to its central position, Niger is a natural crossroads, where flows of all kinds pass, even through the border open to the north with Libya.
"We are investing heavily, with a strategic approach that develops along two lines: on the one hand through a strengthened collaboration with local authorities, on the other in partnership with the United Nations agencies that deal with migration flows, such as IOM and UNHCR."Says Gatto. Another aspect of the Italian intervention regarding these challenges concerns greater attention to the development of the populations living along the migratory routes, with the aim of promoting the creation of alternative replacement economies both to the informal ones created around illegal migration, and to the criminal ones of trafficking and mercenary wars.
"Obviously it is not easy to radically change the indicators of a complex phenomenon such as that of migration in the space of months, but progress has been recorded, in terms of both the containment of flows and the stabilization of populations in transit and reception, and the growth of the population. 'attention and collaboration on the part of local authorities ", comments the ambassador.
At the same time, Italy's commitment to development cooperation in Niger remains very strong, with one annual budget of 50 million euros, mainly addressed in the humanitarian and emergency sectors, assistance, migration, agricultural development and recently also in the health and education sectors.
Alongside traditional cooperation, military cooperation with the Bilateral Support Mission to the Republic of Niger (MISIN), commanded by the colonel of the air force, Davide Cipelletti.
The mission foresees a progressive development with an average annual use up to a maximum of 295 soldiers, 160 land vehicles and 5 air vehicles. Its mandate is to support the development of the Nigerian Security Forces to increase capacity aimed at combating the phenomenon of illegal trafficking and threats to security and to contribute to border and territory surveillance activities and the development of the air component. of the Republic of Niger. MISIN is part of a joint European and US effort to stabilize the area and strengthen the territorial control capacities of the Nigerian authorities and the G5 Sahel countries (Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Chad and Burkina Faso). . The side of military cooperation also has positive implications on the civilian level.
"MISIN has established a strong bond with the authorities and the local community, through which Italian military personnel are also committed to tackling the health challenges of the Nigerian people ", explains Ambassador Gatto. Recently, in the context of civil-military collaboration, Italy donated medical equipment to Niamey's maternity ward, which is compared at a national level with the highest birth rate in the world ”.
According to the Human Development Report, 44,5% of Niger's population is poor and the country ranks last in the world rankings for human development index. Symptomatic data of the great difficulty in getting out of underdevelopment despite the huge endowments of resources and the great attention of the international community. To have slowed the socio-economic development of Niger there have been several constant contributing causes over the last few decades, namely "a mixture of insecurity, geographical position without access to the sea, extreme climatic conditions, desertification, enormous territorial extension, composition by very different ethnic groups of the population and very strong demographic pressure".
Niger is therefore no exception to the great “African paradox”, from which, however, an increasing number of countries are emancipating themselves thanks to sustained growth capable of generating more well-being for the populations. To allow Niger to take the path of development, its ruling class is trying to shift the attention of donors from exclusively humanitarian and welfare cooperation to one that also includes an economic perspective, through the establishment of public-private partnerships for the trade, a real driver of development. In this perspective, the government has made important changes to the regulation of the exploitation of the rich subsoil.
Niger is the fourth largest uranium producer in the world and the sixth by reserves, as well as owning gold mining, of cobalt to which have been added recent significant finds of oil fields. In addition to the traditional presence of France, the country has opened its doors to companies of the China, Turkey and other European nations.