Turkiye and Italy to strengthen defence cooperation, boost trade

Turkiye and Italy will continue to strengthen cooperation in the defence industry with new projects while also boosting their reciprocal trade, the leaders of the two countries said after holding talks in Rome, Reuters has reported.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met in the 17th-century Villa Doria Pamphili for an intergovernmental summit which also involved ministers from both countries.

“We will continue to strengthen our defence industry cooperation with Italy, which has made significant progress, with new partnerships and projects,” Erdogan told journalists alongside Meloni in a joint press conference.

Italy’s Leonardo and Turkiye’s Baykar companies announced in March that they were setting up a joint venture to produce unmanned aerial vehicles, which was described as “significant” by Meloni. “[That] will allow us to enhance respective strengths, open up new market opportunities, especially in Europe,” she added.

The two leaders also announced a new annual target of $40 billion in trade volume between their countries. Meloni pointed out that over 400 Italian companies operated in Turkiye and trade reached $32bn last year.

Following the meeting, ministers from the two countries exchanged memorandums covering various sectors, as a business forum involving companies from both countries took place in a hotel near the centre of the Italian capital.

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