Italian PM Meloni offers climate‑shock debt suspension for African states

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that Italy and its African partners had focused their latest talks on the continent’s debt burden, with Rome offering countries a chance to suspend repayments when hit by extreme climate events.

“Today, once again, we focused on an issue that is central for Africa, which is debt,” Meloni said late on Friday at the close of the second Italy–Africa meeting in Addis Ababa.

“We have launched a broad initiative on debt conversion for joint development projects. To this, we are adding the introduction of debt‑suspension clauses for those nations affected by extreme climate events,” she added.

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends her end-of-year press conference in Rome, Italy, January 9, 2026.Meloni is due to attend on Saturday the plenary session of the 39th ordinary meeting of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa.
She did not give details on how the proposed suspension mechanism would work or which states might take it up.

Italy has made cooperation with African countries a cornerstone of its foreign policy, particularly through its “Mattei Plan,” which Rome says aims to build long‑term partnerships in energy, agriculture and infrastructure.