Description: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome, where alongside their respective delegations, discussions were held regarding boosting trade and economic ties and strengthening defensive cooperation. Erdogan emphasized the importance of Turkey’s defense industry cooperation with Italy, highlighting successful joint ventures such as the cooperation between Italy’s Leonardo SpA and Turkey’s Baykar in drone development and manufacturing. Ministers from both countries have reportedly exchanged memorandums of cooperation with multiple company executives also being present at the meeting. Meloni and Erdogan also announced a renewed bilateral trade target of $40 billion for the next financial year, with trade reaching approximately $32 billion in 2024.
Impact: Turkey has started to massively exploit the US absence among EU partners to enhance ties with the bloc, especially in terms of cooperation undertaking defense industry, trade and economic investments. Even though Italy’s influence on the global stage and within the European Union has significantly decreased due to the excess of domestic economic and security problems, the country still remains one of the pivotal strategic partners within the bloc. The bilateral cooperation would also enable both countries to enhance diplomatic efforts and political pressure over key global issues such as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Despite facing a growing domestic crisis, Erdogan has been heavily invested in carving soft power capital in recent months with signing key strategic partnerships with Asian partners such as Pakistan and Turkmenistan. Meloni through her political inclinations has managed to draw favorable attention from US President Donald Trump, enhancing Italy’s footprint on the global political stage.