Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has expressed support for increasing the number of African students in Italy, a stance that could heighten tensions within the coalition government over immigration and citizenship issues.
Tajani, from the centre-right Forza Italia party, has advocated for granting citizenship to foreign minors who have completed most of their education in Italy. This proposal has faced resistance from the coalition’s hard-right parties, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy and Matteo Salvini’s League.
Speaking at a Catholic business and politics conference in Rimini, Tajani emphasized the need to boost African student enrollment in Italy. He was discussing the Mattei Plan, an Italian development initiative for Africa named after Eni’s late founder, Enrico Mattei. Tajani compared the plan to the Marshall Plan, which aided European recovery after World War II.
Italy hosts far fewer foreign students compared to other major EU countries. ISTAT data shows Italy issued about 25,000 study permits in 2022, in contrast to France’s nearly 105,000 and Germany’s roughly 70,000. Contributing factors include the limited global use of Italian and challenges in finding employment in Italy.
