African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson met with H.E. Agostini Palese, Ambassador of Italy to Ethiopia
The Chairperson of the AU Commission, H.E. @ymahmoudali, met with H.E. Agostini Palese, Ambassador of Italy to Ethiopia. They discussed the upcoming Italy-Africa Summit and deepening regional cooperation.
The Chairperson thanked Italy for hosting the Summit&for its investments&development initiatives under the Mattei Plan, as well as its continued support to AU-led peacekeeping&mediation efforts.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Union (AU).
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Zawya
2 hours ago
- Zawya
No longer the big outlier, Italy sees bond renaissance: Mike Dolan
(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) LONDON - As investors wring their hands about mounting public debt loads across the G7, Italy - a country traditionally seen as a poster child for profligacy and unsustainable debts - is enjoying a relative bond market rejuvenation. Italy's borrowing premium over Germany, which typically reflects relative credit risk, bond supply and political risks, has halved in just two years to less than 100 basis points. More remarkably, this spread - seen by many as the pivotal intra euro zone debt metric - is within a few basis points of post-pandemic lows reached in early 2021 and it's fast homing in on the smallest premium since before the euro debt crisis exploded in 2010. While some investors may wonder if there's any more juice left in this trade, Italy traded with a premium of just 20bps over Germany before the global banking crash of 2008. And yet after a decade and half of existential euro debt crises, domestic political upheaval, European Central Bank intervention, a pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine - the nearing milestones are remarkable. Helped by recent European Central Bank easing, nominal 10-year Italian government borrowing rates of 3.5% are back at the average of the entire 26-year euro zone period. IT'S ALL RELATIVE G7 debt markets are often a relative game. Italy's debt-to-GDP ratio - long in excess of 100% - is no longer such an extreme outlier. Even though its current 137% tally remains historically high, the figures for other advanced economies are fast catching up. Italy's debt burden is also one of the few in the G7 that's not projected to keep rising over the rest of the decade. Japan comfortably retains that mantle as the most indebted G7 nation relative to its economic size. But U.S. sovereign debt has zoomed through 100% of GDP, and U.S. President Donald Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' making its way through Congress is expected to make that worse. More obviously within Europe, once frugal Germany has also lifted its self-imposed 'debt brake' and committed to fiscal stimulus that will arguably buoy euro zone growth at large even as some see its debt-to-GDP ratio hitting at least 100% within 10 years. And what is just as notable for European investors is that France's deficit and debt struggles mean Italy's risk premia have all but converged with those in Paris. At just 20bps on 10-year debt, it's the lowest since 2008. And Unicredit strategists point out that the 3-year Italy-France spread briefly turned negative earlier this year for the first time in more than 20 years. Once Europe's largest debt pile, Italy's gross government debt outstanding was overtaken by France four years ago. At 3.3 trillion euros last year, according to Eurostat, France's debt pile was last year some 300 billion euros bigger than Italy's. Aided by a relatively stable government by Italy's fractious post-war standards, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's administration has been in power since 2022 and Italy's credit ratings are starting to turn up. In April, rating agency S&P Global raised its rating on Italy to "BBB+" from "BBB" in a surprise move and last month Moody's upgraded the outlook on its 'Baa3' rating to "positive". Moody's cited a "better-than-expected" fiscal performance last year and a "stable" political environment, providing a boost for Meloni's plan to keep a lid on annual budget deficits - projected at 3.3% of GDP this year and 2.8% in 2026. "The positive outlook is also supported by a robust labor market, sound household and corporate balance sheets and a healthy banking sector," Moody's said in its report. Goldman Sachs economists this month raised questions about whether the increasingly benign Italian government bond pricing had gone too far given still much-needed structural changes in the economy and a rising European defense spending. But it said there were three 'ameliorating factors' - ongoing fiscal space provided by European Union recovery funds through next year, higher 'real' rates due to disinflation, and continued stable government. What's more, they said higher defense spending may lift Italy's deficit and debt metrics along with other euro countries but joint EU bond sales to fund that meant Italian bond issuance would not increase and the average maturity of its debt could extend further. On top of that, Goldman pointed out, the Italian fiscal balance is improving at the fastest pace among the biggest four euro zone governments - bringing the gap with the euro zone average to its lowest in almost 10 years. Once again, it's all relative. Italy still has a debt problem - but increasingly so too do all its peers. Rome is getting rewarded for keeping it in check at least. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. (by Mike Dolan; editing by Deepa Babington)


Zawya
3 hours ago
- Zawya
Egypt pursues stronger agricultural investment across Africa
Egypt - Alaa Farouk, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, held a strategic meeting with a ministerial committee to explore ways of enhancing cooperation with African countries in the agricultural sector. The session included Sherif El-Gabaly, Chair of the African affairs committee in the House of Representatives; Hesham El-Hosary, Chair of the House agriculture and irrigation committee; Abdelsalam El-Gabaly, Chair of the Senate agriculture and irrigation committee; Abdelhamid Demerdash, Chairperson of the Agricultural Crops Export Council; as well as ministry leaders, experts, and investor representative Ahmed El-Sewedy. The discussions focused on mechanisms to boost Egyptian agricultural investments across African countries and strengthen bilateral cooperation in food production and agribusiness. Minister Farouk reaffirmed President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi's directives to deepen Egypt's partnerships across the continent—particularly in agriculture—as a cornerstone of regional food security and economic integration. He stressed that these partnerships would be underpinned by joint ventures, integrated agro-industrial projects, and existing trade agreements. Farouk emphasised the importance of identifying practical methods and frameworks for collaboration, calling for greater engagement from the private sector, scientific institutions, and research bodies. He requested the committee to present alternative proposals and an implementation roadmap within two weeks, to be reviewed in coordination with scientific and international partners for subsequent feasibility and technical assessments. Highlighting Africa's potential, Farouk noted that many countries on the continent offer compelling opportunities for investment due to abundant land, water resources, and the capacity to cultivate a wide range of strategic and high-value crops. These comparative advantages, he said, make agricultural cooperation mutually beneficial. The meeting also explored the development of a replicable investment model for projects in selected African countries. Key criteria include political stability, transport infrastructure, land quality, water availability, and other agricultural enablers. An agreement was reached to prepare a clear and detailed study outlining a viable investment model, to be implemented through partnerships between government agencies, the private sector, and national banks. The model will target countries offering promising opportunities and investor-friendly environments. Farouk further noted that efforts are underway to ensure data accuracy and risk mitigation, using standardised criteria to guide decision-making. It was also agreed that business leaders and investors would be invited to take part in the model, with an open call for participation from all interested stakeholders. The minister concluded by stating that this meeting builds on ongoing coordination between the Ministry and Parliament's African Affairs Committee, aiming to scale up Egyptian investments and agricultural collaboration across the continent. Participants recommended forming a permanent committee to assess investment opportunities, composed of representatives from the African Affairs Committee, the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the private sector.


Zawya
15 hours ago
- Zawya
South African parliament passes budget framework
South Africa's lower house of parliament passed the budget's fiscal framework and revenue proposals on Wednesday. The budget of Africa's biggest economy has been caught up in political wrangling for months. It has been reworked twice because of disagreements in the ruling coalition over plans to raise value-added tax. A majority of 268 lawmakers, including from the two biggest political parties the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA), voted in favour of the fiscal framework and revenue proposals, while 88 voted against and 2 abstained. The ANC and the DA had been at loggerheads over the budget until the finance minister backtracked on a plan to raise value-added tax. The two parties have more than half of the lawmakers in the 400-member National Assembly. (Reporting by Alessandro Parodi and Sfundo Parakozov; Editing by Alexander Winning)