Turkey and Italy strengthen ties with trade and defence agreements
Mr Erdogan was in Rome to attend a fourth so-called Intergovernmental Summit between Italy and Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday observed the formal exchange of a dozen co-operation agreements, including on defence, as part of efforts to strengthen ties between the two nations.
Mr Erdogan was in Rome to attend a fourth so-called Intergovernmental Summit between Italy and Turkey that aims to boost trade and co-operation.
His visit comes at a time when Turkey and Italy have expanded defence partnerships.
In March, Turkey’s leading drone manufacturer, Baykar, reached a memorandum of understanding for a joint venture with Italy’s Leonardo for production of unmanned aerial vehicles. Last year, Baykar bought Italian aircraft producer Piaggio Aerospace.
Speaking after their meeting, Ms Meloni and Mr Erdogan said that Turkey and Italy have successfully reached their 30 billion-dollar (£22.3 billion) trade volume target and have now set a new goal of 40 billion dollars (£29.8 billion), signalling further economic collaboration.
“We will continue to strengthen our co-operation with Italy, which has made significant progress in the field of defence industry, with new partnerships and projects,” Mr Erdogan said.
Italy sees Turkey as a key partner in managing migration numbers and maintaining stability in the region.
On Tuesday, Ms Meloni thanked Mr Erdogan, saying joint measures by Turkey and Italy had resulted in the number of migrants originating from Turkey dropping to “zero”.
Mr Erdogan said: “We will continue our co-operation with Italy in the field of combating irregular migration in the coming period.”
The Turkish leader also said the sides had discussed possible co-operation towards Syria’s redevelopment and would hold more consultations on the issue.
