Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni formally signed a series of cooperation agreements, including defense ones, on Tuesday as part of efforts to strengthen relations between the two nations.
Mr Erdogan is in Rome to attend the fourth so-called Intergovernmental Summit, which aims to boost trade and cooperation.
His visit comes at a time when Türkiye and Italy are strengthening their defence cooperation.
In March, leading Turkish drone maker Baykar signed a memorandum of understanding with Italy’s Leonardo to establish a joint venture to produce drones. Last year, Baykar acquired Italian aircraft maker Piaggio Aerospace.
Following the meeting, Ms Meloni and Mr Erdogan noted that Turkey and Italy had successfully reached the $30 billion (£22.3 billion) trade target and set a new target of $40 billion (£29.8 billion), marking further economic cooperation.
“We will continue to strengthen our partnership with Italy, which has made significant progress in the defence sector, through new projects and joint initiatives,” Mr Erdogan said.
Italy considers Turkey an important partner in migration management and ensuring stability in the region.
On Tuesday, Ms Meloni expressed gratitude to Mr Erdogan, noting that joint efforts by Turkey and Italy had reduced the number of migrants from Turkey to “zero”.
Mr Erdogan added: “We will continue to cooperate with Italy in the coming months to combat illegal migration.”
The Turkish leader also said that the parties discussed the possibility of cooperation in the restoration of Syria and plan to hold additional consultations on this issue.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
