Italy

Summary

ODA Spending 

How much ODA does Italy contribute?

In 2024, Italy spent a total of US$6.5 billion on ODA, making it the 8^th-largest donor country among members of the DAC. In relative terms, Italy was the 18^st-largest donor. Italy’s ODA represented 0.28% of the country’s GNI in 2024.

How is Italian ODA changing?

Italy’s development strategy, as outlined in the 2024-2026 Programming and Planning document, confirms its focus on the African continent and mitigating the root causes of migration and displacement. The four priority areas are: health, education, agriculture/food security, and climate.

Development cooperation is a qualifying element of Italian foreign policy that promotes peace, justice, and stability. The triannual guidelines highlight how Italian cooperation is also a strategic pillar of the Mattei Plan for Africa, a platform for dialogue and equal growth with African countries.

In December 2024, Italy's Parliament voted to approve a budget for 2025-2027. In 2025, Italy's ODA will increase by 6.7% to reach US$7 billion (EUR6.7 billion). The Ministry of Economy and Finance has significantly increased cooperation resources, with more than half a billion euros in growth, but it is likely that this increase in budget will be allocated to other financial instruments, particularly the IDA and the African Development Bank, in line with the Mattei Plan.

In November 2023, the Italian Parliament adopted a COP28 resolution, signed by 19 Italian MPs from all parties in the majority coalition, committing to the 0.7% ODA/GNI ratio with half of ODA dedicated to tackling climate change. This is also in line with the Italian government’s commitment to the 0.7% ODA to GNI ratio by 2030. The 0.7% target is also reiterated in the Italian cooperation strategy for 2024-2026.

In January 2025, at the first press conference of the year, PM Meloni announced that Mattei's plan would include five new countries in 2025: Tanzania, Mauritania, Ghana, Angola, and Senegal. She is committed to further developing international partnerships and synergies, such as the one that occurred between the Mattei Plan and the Global Gateway. Italy is also working to identify new instruments to attract FDI leveraging the Mattei Plan.

At the G20 in Rio, President Meloni, in a meeting with Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgietti and President of the World Bank Ajay Banga, announced that Italy intends to increase its contribution to the three-year replenishment of IDA. Meloni declared: "This will allow this body, which allocates 75% of its resources to Africa, to boost its support for projects carried out within the framework of the Mattei Plan". At the moment, the Italian government hasn't announced an official pledge.

On December 2024, at the AfDB's Africa Investment Forum in Rabat, Italian state lender CDP and the AfDB signed a co-financing deal worth US$420 million (EUR400 million) to promote climate finance, sustainable farming, education, and technical assistance, as part of the Mattei Plan.

Where is Italian ODA allocated?

Italy traditionally disburses most of its ODA multilaterally, with 56% channeled multilaterally in 2023. On average, Italy directed 67% of its ODA to multilateral institutions between 2013-2022. However, between 2013-2017, Italy’s share of bilateral contributions increased due to the high costs associated with hosting refugees, a trend which has repeated itself since 2020.

Bilateral Spending 

Italy’s overall bilateral ODA decreased by 26% between 2022 and 2023, with 41% going to IDRC.

A large share of Italy’s bilateral funding, 67%, is unallocated by country and region. Sub-Saharan Africa is a priority region for Italy’s bilateral development cooperation, receiving 12% of Italian ODA in 2023, the next largest share.

On October 9, 2023, the Italian Joint Committee for International Development decided to raise resources allocated to bilateral cooperation by 60% in 2024, with 25% and 15% of remaining resources for 2024 to be given to emergency and multilateral interventions, respectively.

Multilateral Spending and Commitments 

Italy is a strong supporter of multilateralism, particularly health multilaterals. In recent years, Italy has increased its contributions to health multilaterals such as Gavi and the Global Fund.

Core contributions to multilateral organizations made up 56% of Italy’s ODA in 2023, with the largest proportion channeled to EU Institutions.

Recent commitments to multilateral organizations are summarized below. 

Politics & Priorities

What is the current state of Italian politics?

Italy is a representative democracy with a parliamentary system. Elections take place every five years or in the event of a dissolution.

In September 2022, the center-right coalition led by Giorgia Meloni won the Italian political elections with 44% of the votes, making her Italy’s first female prime minister. The Brothers of Italy led with more than 26%, up from just 4% in the last national election in 2018, supplanting Matteo Salvini’s League for Salvini Premier party as the driving force on the right. LSP took less than 9% of the vote, down from more than 17% in 2018. The other major conservative party, Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia, garnered around 8% of the vote.

Voter turnout was historically low, at just 64%, compared to 73% in the previous election. The right took full advantage of Italy's electoral law, which benefits parties that forge pre-ballot alliances. Center-left and centrist parties failed to align, and though centrist parties collectively won more votes, they received far fewer seats. The center-left Democratic Party received 19% of the vote, while the left-leaning, unaligned Five Star Movement received around 15%, exceeding pre-election expectations. The centrist coalition, Azione, led by former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Carlo Calenda, won almost 8%. Enrico Letta the head of the main opposition, PD said he would not contest the leadership at the next party congress. 

According to Bankitalia estimates released in April 2025, Italy's GDP will increase by 0.6% in 2025, 0.8% in 2026, and 0.7% in 2027. The scenario includes a first and necessarily partial assessment of the duties announced by the United States. Still, it does not consider the impacts of retaliatory measures, the possible consequences on international markets, and the temporary and partial suspension announced later on the same month. The GDP will be held back by foreign demand due to tariffs, while supported by the expansion of consumption, favored by the performance of real incomes. Investments will benefit from the measures of the PNRR. Still, they will be penalized by the uncertainty associated with trade tensions, as well as by the effects of the disappearance of incentives for residential construction. It is estimated that consumer inflation will remain at around 1.5% in 2025 and 2026, to rise to 2% in 2027.

The IMF also projected that Italian unemployment would fall to 7.2% in 2025.

Who is responsible for allocating Italian ODA?

Development cooperation is defined as an ‘integral and qualifying part’ of Italian foreign policy and builds on the following architecture:

• Parliament is composed of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. They examine, amend, and vote on the draft budget developed by the government. The Foreign Affairs committees of both chambers give recommendations on ODA budget amendments, while the budget committees of both chambers make final decisions;
• MAECI headed by Antonio Tajani since October 2022 is responsible for defining the strategic direction of Italy’s development policy. Within MAECI, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation plays a key role in overseeing the development of the ODA budget as well as the development of the triennial programming guidelines, which define the country’s development objectives and priorities;
• MEF led by Giancarlo Giorgetti ( League for Salvini Premier) has joint control over the cooperation with and contributions to development banks as well as funds together with MAECI. MEF collaborates with MAECI on the ODA budget. The Directorate III on International Financial Relations is an important part of MEF, which consists of 10 specific offices that participate in informal government groups such as the G7 and the G20, and deal with development-related initiatives;
• CICS, established in 2014, usually meets twice a year to approve the three-year programming guidelines and ODA budgets. CICS is chaired by the Prime Minister and is composed of the Minister and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as representatives from other ministries, including finance and the environment;
• The Joint Development Cooperation Committee decides on operational issues, including all projects worth over EUR2 million ( US$2 million). It is chaired by MAECI and composed of the heads of MAECI’s DGCS and AICS. The current Director General of the DGCS is Stefano Gatti;
• AICS develops, supervises, and implements Italy’s development programs. It was set up in January 2016 and is led by Marco Riccardo Rusconi since 2023;
• CDP is a joint-stock company under public control, which provides technical and financial support to MAECI and AICS. It acts as the administrative manager of development financing, by signing agreements with the governments of partner countries or by managing Italian, European, international, and private sector funds. CDP itself can also finance development projects, using its own resources or private/public blending instruments;
• The Mattei Plan’s Steering Committee, established in November 2023, is chaired by the Prime Minister and composed of all the ministers, with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani acting as deputy chair. Other members include the representatives from Italy’s twenty regions and the heads of the Italian Trade & Investment Agency, the Italian Export Credit Agency, and CDP, as well as other State-participated companies and academic staff. This newly established entity will reside within the PM’s offices and be divided into a series of units, better to manage each part of the Plan’s implementation. It will be headed by a coordinator, and support the Prime Minister in directing and coordinating the Plan, in addition to drafting an annual report to the Italian Parliament;
• Embassies play a key role in programming bilateral funds. Allocations to partner countries are based on multi-year country programs developed by DGCS, in consultation with local technical units and embassies. At the country level, regional departments at DGCS’ headquarters develop and approve projects after consultation with the embassies; and
• Civil society is involved in the policymaking process, mainly through the CNCS. It is a consultative body bringing together 50 members of different backgrounds, including private-sector organizations, CSOs, as well as public authorities, to provide feedback on the government’s development policies. The CNCS divides its work between three groups, namely ‘Agenda 2030’, ‘private sector’, and ‘migration and development’. Each group is supposed to meet every two months, but there has been public criticism that the Council remains largely inactive.

What are Italy's development goals?

The triannual strategic document for 2024-2026 outlines seven priority areas for intervention: Africa, Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Small Island Developing States. Among these, Africa holds a central position for Italy due to its rapid development and strategic importance in addressing the root causes of migration flows and humanitarian crises.

At the sectoral level, the document emphasizes several key issues:

• Education and Employment: Strengthening human capital and creating opportunities for youth and women is essential.
• Agriculture and Food Security: Promoting sustainable and resilient agri-food systems is a priority.
• Environment and Climate Change: Interventions will focus on mitigating the effects of climate crises and promoting renewable energy.
• Health and Access to Healthcare: Special attention will be given to remote and conflict-affected areas.

The three-year document reiterates the significance of the five pillars of the 2030 Agenda: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership. Italy aims to enhance its efforts toward specific goals such as poverty reduction, universal access to education and healthcare, environmental sustainability, and the promotion of gender equality. Innovation is a cross-cutting theme throughout the document, highlighting the importance of advanced technologies, social inclusion, and sustainable development models.

To ensure the effectiveness of these interventions, Italy will promote greater collaboration between public and private sectors, engaging regions, local governments, universities, and civil society. Emphasis is placed on coordination with the European Union through initiatives like the Global Gateway and partnerships with multilateral organizations and United Nations agencies. Financially, the document envisions a gradual increase in ODA to reach the target of 0.7% of GNI, with a focus on LDCs.

On January 28-29, 2024, Italy hosted the Africa-Italy Summit, chaired by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, during which 25 African leaders and diplomats joined Italian and EU leaders to launch the pilot programs of Italy's flagship foreign policy initiative, also known as the Mattei Plan for Africa.

Meloni announced EUR5.5 billion ( US$5.8 billion) in credits, grants, and guarantees under the plan. EUR3 billion ( US$3.2 billion) will come from the Italian Climate Fund, as announced at abbr:COP28 , and EUR2.5 billion ( US$2.6 billion) will come from the newly created multilateral fund at the AfDB. The Plan identifies a set of countries in SSA and North African regions for the implementation of projects, and focuses on the following priorities:

• Education and training;
• Agriculture;
• Health;
• Energy; and
• Water.

On November 3, 2023, the Italian Council of the Ministries approved the decree that defined the governance and the scope of the four-year Mattei Plan.

The Mattei Plan aims to strengthen collaborative initiatives between Italy and African states to identify, define, and implement initiatives in the following areas:

• International cooperation;
• Imports, exports, and the promotion of investments;
• Education, R&D, and innovation;
• Global health;
• Agriculture and food security;
• Sustainable supply and use of natural resources, including water and energy;
• Environmental protection and adaptation;
• Modernization of infrastructure, including digital infrastructure;
• Support for entrepreneurship, in particular, youth and women's entrepreneurship;
• Tourism and culture; and
• Prevention and countering of irregular migration and management of legal migration flows.

On July 23, 2023, Italy hosted the first International Conference on Migration and Development in Rome, Italy.

More than 20 leaders from the southern shores of the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and the Gulf participated. Also in attendance were leaders of EU port-of-entry states, partners from the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, various heads of European institutions, and heads of international financial institutions. The conference discussed and addressed roots causes of and responses to increased migration flows.

The Italian government declared the main objectives of the conference as:

• Managing migration flows;
• Bolstering the fight against human trafficking; and
• Promoting the economic development of vulnerable countries to tackle migration at the source.

AICS, which manages Italy’s bilateral development cooperation, focuses development cooperation in five thematic areas:

• Economic development and opportunities;
• Human development, including health, education, gender equality, and disabilities;
• Environment and use of natural resources;
• Rural development and food security; and
• Conflict-affected and fragile states.  

By issue 

Global health is a key issue for Italy. Food security is another priority for Italy in light of the COVID-19 crisis. Italy supports the ‘One Health’ approach, which puts forth the interdependency between human and animal health, as well as its linkage to the health of entire ecosystems.

Read more about Italy’s ODA to Global Health

Agriculture is a key issue for Italy, especially with major UN food and agriculture organizations based in Rome.

Read more about Italy’s ODA for Agriculture

Climate and gender equality: Climate change and gender equality are prioritized in Italy’s development cooperation. However, funding levels remain moderate.

Read more about Italy’s ODA for Gender Equality

Read more about Italy’s ODA for Climate Change

Education is not a major priority for Italy. However, the issue is largely related to Italy’s work in gender equality.

Read more about Italy’s ODA for Education

By region 

Due to Italy’s geographic location as the first entry point for many refugees entering Europe, the country’s development priorities include a strong emphasis on tackling the root causes of migration, particularly in the African continent. However, Italy has not yet adopted the Global Compact on Migration, an intergovernmental agreement prepared by the UN that lays out objectives to facilitate legal migration.

Budget 

What are the details of Italy's ODA budget?

MEF manages the largest part of Italy’s ODA budget. The MEF mainly contributes to Italy’s development funding through contributions to the EU's general budget, which includes the DCI.

The Ministry of the Interior controls the portion of the  ODA  budget, allocated for spending on refugees and migration-related issues.

MAECI  manages 19% of the ODA budget The main development assistance-related budget envelope within MAECI is program 4.2, ‘Development Cooperation’. It comprises ‘chapters’ of funding to AICS  and contributions to the EDF. It also includes several ‘chapters’ of contributions to the UN and other multilaterals.

How does Italy determine its ODA budget?

Parliamentary budget discussions run from October to December, and overall ODA levels are set from February to June. Italy's fiscal year corresponds to the calendar year.

In addition to the regular budget process, the government usually issues a Decree known as the 'Milleproroghe Decree’ in February. It uses this decree to finance additional measures in the next budget year, relating to any budgetary issue. Parliament examines and may amend the Decree from January-February. This typically provides an additional opportunity for interest groups to influence the ODA budget.