Thanks to Giorgia Meloni, the country becomes a strategic crossroads for Emirati investments and the United States attracts colossal resources, while the EU is paralyzed by technocratic rigidity, political short-sightedness and the absence of a vision
It is not an accident, nor an overlap. It is a
strategy. The Emirates are redefining their global position with a clear message: build bridges, not barriers.
40 billion from the Emirates: record investment in Italy. A lesson for Europe?
On February 24, 2025, in Rome, during the Italy-United Arab Emirates Business Forum , Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced a historic investment by Abu Dhabi: 40 billion dollars destined for our country. A colossal operation that, in addition to confirming Italy’s attractiveness , marks a turning point in Euro-Mediterranean geopolitical relations.
The plan includes total investments of 40 billion dollars, sanctioned by 14 institutional agreements and 28 understandings between private companies. It involves some of the main Italian economic players — Eni, Enel, Leonardo, Fincantieri, Tim, Cdp, Intesa Sanpaolo — and is divided into several fronts: from artificial intelligence to data centers , with over 3 billion dollars; from defense to space, with 6 billion expected over the next five years; from renewables to rare earths, with more than 8 billion in partnerships. Without forgetting culture, museums and technical training, to which one billion is allocated, and involvement in the Mattei Plan for Africa , with an initial bilateral fund of 1.5 billion for agricultural, energy and logistics projects in six African countries.
The Emirati Strategy: Power Through Partnership
Over the past decade, the United Arab Emirates has quadrupled its foreign direct investment, from $76 billion in 2015 to over $310 billion in 2024, according to Unctad data . Thanks to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Mubadala , the country has built one of the world’s most powerful sovereign portfolios, with over $1.5 trillion in assets under management.
These are not random investments, but a coherent design of economic soft power. The Emirate does not impose, but proposes. It does not occupy, but collaborates. In a multipolar world, power is not exercised by digging trenches, but by weaving networks.
Europe: Prisoner of its own fears
While the Emirates are focusing on Italy and the United States, Europe is raising walls. Deficit constraints and the Stability Pact are once again suffocating public investment. In 2023, the European Union received less than 5% of Emirati direct investments, compared to 22% destined for Asia and 17% for the United States. Relations with Africa remain mired in post-colonial rhetoric, without a shared vision like that expressed by the Mattei Plan. The European sovereign fund EFSD+ is struggling to take off and, on a continental scale, has just 30 billion euros: less than what the Emirates are allocating to Italy alone.
While Brussels discusses, Abu Dhabi signs . While Europe regulates, the Emirates act. That’s the difference.
Italy: Europe’s weak point, a global hub of interest
It is no coincidence that the Emirates have chosen Italy. Our country is the second largest manufacturer in Europe, boasts strong technical capacity in the energy, defense and infrastructure sectors, and is a strategic hub between the Mediterranean, Africa and the Middle East. Above all, it is not perceived as an aggressive colonial power, but as a credible technical and cultural partner. The investment also represents recognition of Italy’s centrality in the new multipolar chessboard: an opportunity we cannot afford to waste.
Emirates Build the Future, Europe Watch
The 40 billion invested in Italy and the 1,400 billion announced for the United States are not favors, nor ideological moves. They are strategic, targeted, lucid choices. The Emirates have understood that power today is exercised by building alliances and sharing visions . It is a model that deserves to be studied carefully. Because we too, once upon a time, knew how to play ahead of the game. And not limit ourselves to chasing the future.