The Real Mattei Plan. Focus on Emiratis and Bayraktar

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The Mattei Plan for Africa, since its announcement in the 2022 confidence speech, has been a good idea of ​​the government . In symbols, appropriating Enrico Mattei gives Giorgia Meloni an advantage over her opponents, which is still evident. On the one hand, there is the leader of the right-wing government who praises a Christian Democrat partisan, who then pursued his grand design also by making use of former hierarchs like Dino Grandi or communists like Mario Pirani. On the other hand, there is the chat of April 25 or the millionth interview with Romano Prodi. On the internal level, it is easy to win. On the external level, Mattei instead refers to the concreteness of a foreign policy based not only on the search for relative autonomy (an important theme for the construction of his myth, which I will explain in a booklet) but also and above all on infrastructure, energy and training. That said, the implementation of the Mattei Plan is another game, like the implementation of anything, in Italy. The Plan can and will be able to oscillate between these three poles: a) a “Table”, or a series of superfluous meetings in the Sala Verde and its surroundings; b) a useful methodological exercise, which brings together the activities already underway, by Eni and other actors, in a comprehensive system; c) an innovative work, which can make a difference, through the connections that matter for Italy.

To follow the thread of the last option, let's go to Istanbul, at an important and painful moment for Inter fans: the 2023 Champions League final. Muḥammad bin Zayed al Nahyan, MBZ, recently formal president of the United Arab Emirates but for decades an undisputed point of reference for deep Gulf politics, is in the city to follow his brother's team, Manchester City, alongside Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but also for high-level discussions with the Turks. He also meets Selçuk Bayraktar, Erdogan's engineer son-in-law who in just a few years has made Baykar Technologies one of the world's leading players in drone warfare. They don't just discuss politics and economics, but also their shared passions for aeronautics and the planes they've flown. A few weeks apart, in this first glimpse of 2025, Italy has been visited by both Bayraktar and MBZ. The first filmed a video of his landing in Liguria, where his company acquired Piaggio Aerospace, once owned by the Emirates. Baykar then welcomed the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy and the President of Leonardo in Turkey, with whom a partnership is announced. MBZ met with President Sergio Mattarella and Meloni, and about 40 billion in investments were announced in the Italy-United Arab Emirates Entrepreneurial Forum.

These visits are connected to the Mattei Plan for two reasons. First , Turkey and the Emirates are actors with a concrete influence in Africa, capable of competing even with China. Baykar's drone diplomacy involves a growing number of African nations. The Emirati leadership in investments is impressive: the Financial Times reported projects for 110 billion between 2019 and 2023. Secondly, MBZ and Bayraktar understood before others the world we live in, a world in which the link between defense, education and technology establishes the real balance of power. Bayraktar is not just a drone manufacturer. It is the face of Turkish technological ambition, through massive cultural and educational activity, in schools and universities, and through the Teknofest festival. MBZ, a brilliant mind, has always been the first to move on the technological frontier in the region, mobilizing Emirati capital on semiconductors, on defense technologies, today on data centers and artificial intelligence (G42 and MGX). Thus, from competitive cooperation with real powers such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, through their champions, a concrete and unscrupulous Mattei Plan could arise. As the Christian Democrat partisan would like.

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