Türkiye and Italy on Tuesday voiced their willingness to additional advance their partnership within the protection trade and lifted the goal for his or her bilateral items alternate quantity, as the 2 Mediterranean international locations search to spice up cooperation and commerce.
“Türkiye and Italy are two key NATO allies. Relations between us are improving day by day. On significant matters, we share valuable alignment,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan instructed a press convention alongside Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
“We will continue to strengthen our cooperation with Italy in the defense industry, which has made significant progress, through new partnerships and projects,” Erdoğan added.
He arrived in Rome on Tuesday to attend the 4th Intergovernmental Summit between Türkiye and Italy, which was anticipated to deal with steps to boost cooperation, together with discussions of present regional and international points.
Meloni welcomed Erdoğan with a ceremony on the Villa Pamphili residence in Rome earlier than the 2 leaders went on to have a one-on-one assembly.
The go to comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed the European Union, of which Italy is an element, to hunt deeper safety ties with Türkiye, a NATO ally and lengthy a candidate to hitch the 27-nation bloc.
“I believe that Italy, which has consistently supported our European Union membership process from the very beginning, will continue to maintain this approach,” Erdoğan mentioned.
Defense cooperation
With arms trade orders hovering in response to the battle, in March, Italian protection agency Leonardo and Turkish drone magnate Baykar agreed to collectively develop unmanned aerial techniques.
Following their assembly, Erdoğan and Meloni oversaw the signing of various offers, together with on protection, commerce, industrial investments, transportation and house.
The agreements included a preliminary protocol between Baykar and Leonardo, which was signed by Baykar Chairman of the Board Selçuk Bayraktar and Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani.
“I believe that we are laying new foundations for the further advancement of the excellent relations between Italy and Türkiye,” which might simply be the primary within the Mediterranean, Meloni instructed the press convention.
“Our efforts have been highly productive, and we are very pleased with the results.”
Italy is Türkiye’s second-largest business accomplice in Europe. Bilateral commerce was value $32.2 billion in 2024, in line with Rome.
“Our trade ties with Italy are strengthening, and we will explore new areas of cooperation. Economy and trade drive this collaboration forward. Italy ranks among the top five countries in our foreign trade,” mentioned Erdoğan.
“At today’s summit, we set our new trade volume target at $40 billion, and I believe we will achieve this goal with the newly signed agreements.”
Gaza cease-fire ‘high precedence’
In addition to bilateral relations, Erdoğan and Meloni additionally mentioned the conflict in Ukraine and the state of affairs within the Middle East.
“Türkiye will continue contributing to peace. Our peace efforts in the region, particularly in the Black Sea, are ongoing,” Erdoğan mentioned.
“We also discussed developments in Ukraine and expressed our support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” he added.
Erdoğan mentioned restoring the cease-fire in Gaza, the place humanitarian assist has not been allowed to enter for the previous two months, “is our top priority.”
On Libya, he mentioned Türkiye and Italy would proceed to work collectively on long-term and sustainable options to protect the war-torn nation’s stability and prosperity.
In Syria, Türkiye is concentrated on the reconstruction of the nation, strengthening its establishments, and preserving its territorial integrity, Erdoğan added.
The first intergovernmental summit was held in 2008 in Türkiye’s Izmir and the final one was held within the capital, Ankara, three years in the past.
The summit can be adopted by a discussion board with participation from each international locations’ business communities.
Migration can also be excessive on the agenda. Ankara has, in recent times, performed a number one position in serving to stem irregular arrivals to Europe.
The delegations had been additionally anticipated to work to boost cooperation in transport, infrastructure, house and sport, with Italy and Türkiye as a consequence of collectively host the Euro 2032 soccer event, the supply mentioned.
Source: www.dailysabah.com