REPORT | Monthly

Med-Or Monthly Africa Report | July 2026

The Med-Or July Africa Report is out.

This month’s analysis opens with Umberto Tavolato’s editorial on the African response to the global energy crisis and geopolitical competition stemming from the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf region more broadly. Today, geopolitical divisions among Gulf countries extend deeply into Africa, altering the strategic balance of African regions and countries. In spite of geopolitical divisions, geoeconomics is increasingly uniting the wider Red Sea region. The geography of energy, interconnected infrastructures and shared economic interests are altering existing trends, generating new opportunities for Africa’s own economy and becoming the instruments from which peace and strategic autonomy for Africa can be built.

The July Report also covers six other developments shaping the continent:

   • Francesco Meriano on how US negotiations in Libya and draft plans to reunify the country through a power-sharing agreement between the two Governments led to Libya’s announcement on a roadmap to hold national elections by February 2027

   • Luciano Pollichieni on the project of the new oil refinery in Lamu, Kenya, as the beginning of an ambitious phase of East African energy infrastructure, centralised in Kenya, leading to a strategic recalibration among neighbouring states

   • Matilde Vecchioni on Washington’s rebuilding of its military footprint in West Africa and broader recalibration in the Lake Chad Basin and the Sahel, while enhancing diplomatic engagement with regional governments for a broader strategic coverage of the area

   • Corrado Čok on the halt to all fundings by the US to the UN agency in charge for logistics of the African Union mission fighting Al-Shabaab in Somalia (AUSSOM) and direct implications on Somalia and its external security partnerships 

   • Matteo Mostarda and Jillo Ramadhan on Russia’s attempts to expand its presence in the Western Indian Ocean as the recent crises in the Middle East have increased the region’s strategic importance

   • Chepkorir Sambu on the Sudan war, the persistent absence of a military solution and the worsening of the ongoing humanitarian crisis, showing the need for the international community to align behind a civilian political process

For the first time, the Africa Report includes the new section on updates from the main initiatives of Italy’s Mattei Plan for Africa. The July edition is dedicated to BFuture Farm project in the Republic of Congo, a new model of agricultural cooperation between Italy and Africa launched by BF International.

Lastly, the photo gallery covers Med-Or’s July activities: the high-level diplomatic training in Mogadishu at the presence of Somalia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, the executive workshop in Med-Or with Djibouti’s Minister of Economy, Finance & Industry on maritime infrastructures and security in the Red Sea and the signing of a MoU between the Ministry and Med-Or to pursue strategic initiatives, the Med-Or Day event on NATO’s future for the Atlantic, Europe and the Mediterranean, the launch of BFuture Farm project in DRC and Med-Or’s participation in IGAD workshop in Kenya with IGAD Executive Secretary.

Please read the full report below in both mobile and print versions.