Some African leaders are in Italy’s capital, Rome, for the Italy-Africa summit.
The summit is intended to boost relations between Italy and Africa.
The European nation is expected to launch a “new approach” for cooperating with African countries at the two-day summit.
It hopes that this approach will “not be predatory, not paternalistic, but not charitable either”, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said.
The key areas for collaboration include food security, education, vocational training, energy, economic infrastructure development, and culture.
The summit, which kicked off on Sunday, also seeks to improve investment in African countries as a strategy to curb irregular migration from the continent.
China, Germany, and Russia have organised similar summits to strengthen ties with African countries.
Last year, President William Ruto spoke against African leaders being called by world leaders for summit. He had instead said African leaders should be represented by the AU.
He will, however be among 20 attending the Italy-Africa Summit in yet another foreign trip.