Meloni and Kishida at the G7 in Hiroshima
Meloni on an official visit to Tokyo, we will talk about the G7 and economic cooperation but also defense
The Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, will be in Tokyo from Sunday 4 February to Tuesday 6 February 2024 for an official visit. The objective of the trip, diplomatic sources explain, is “to confirm Italy's desire to further strengthen the excellent performance of bilateral relations with Japan and the strategic and multidimensional character of the bilateral partnership, transforming the important foundations laid in 2023 into actions concrete in 2024”. The Japanese Foreign Ministry explained that the visit will also allow for a “gradual transition of the results obtained from last year's Japanese presidency of the G7 to this year's Italian presidency”.
The trip is part of a context of “great harmony and strong relaunch of bilateral relations, clearly strengthened by the launch of the bilateral Strategic Partnership on the occasion of the visit to Rome of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on 10 January 2023”, add the diplomatic sources . Monday 5th, 6.30pm Tokyo time, a bilateral meeting will be held between Meloni and Kishida“a very useful moment also to mark the handover between the two nations at the helm of the G7 and to express Italy's appreciation for the management and results of the Japanese presidency in 2023″, specify the same sources, observing that It is Meloni's fourth meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister after last year's talks in Rome (10 January), Hiroshima (18 May) and Dubai (2 December)”.
“The strong momentum given in 2023 to relations with Tokyo reflects a priority strategic interest, in the context of which, in addition to the multiple meetings with Kishida, also the progress within the Global Combat Air Programme. The meeting will therefore be an opportunity to share the priorities of the Italian presidency and ensure continuity on the main topics on the agenda of the Japanese presidency: peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, artificial intelligence, relations with developing nations and emerging economies. The two leaders – the diplomatic sources further explain – will address the detailed bilateral agenda between Italy and Japan, including cooperation in the political, economic-commercial, cultural and security fields. The meeting includes an initial conversation on the topics of the bilateral and G7 agenda, joint statements to the press and a working dinner on foreign policy issues.
The topics on the international agenda that will be addressed during the meeting will be the situation in the Indo-Pacific macro-region, the crisis in Gaza, the situation in the Red Sea, Afghanistan and the situation in Ukraine. On Monday afternoon, before the bilateral meeting, a meeting is scheduled with the top management of some of the most important Japanese companies, with the aim of promoting industrial collaborations and attracting investments in Italy. The aim is to strengthen cooperation in the economic and industrial fields. The meeting between Meloni and Kishida, diplomatic sources continue, will be an opportunity to address some issues in continuity between the Japanese and Italian Presidencies of the G7. Japan, as has already emerged on several occasions, looks with great attention to the initiatives promoted by Italy in line with the Hiroshima summit.
In particular, Italy's desire to follow up on the Hiroshima process on generative artificial intelligence, delving into the issue of guiding principles and code of conduct for companies developing this technology. Both share the importance of placing ethical questions at the center of the AI debate. Another shared priority is the stability of the Indo-Pacific. The G7 Presidency in 2023, the sources further observe, has offered Japan an important showcase to enhance its increased commitment in foreign policy, contributing strongly to shifting the center of gravity of attention towards the Indo-Pacific, also in terms of economic security and combating the phenomenon of economic coercion.
The meeting with Kishida represents an opportunity for Italy to underline Japan's crucial role in maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific and Rome's increased attention towards this region. Economic cooperation. Italy has a solid entrepreneurial presence in Japan (over 160 companies), in traditional sectors (agro-industry, textiles, clothing and jewellery) and with high technological content (chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, automotive, rail transport, energy plants green and steel). Italy has a strong interest in the development of industrial collaborations, in particular in the sectors of microelectronics (Japanese companies are among the world leaders in the semiconductor supply chain), artificial intelligence, energy transition, aerospace, biomedicine and of robotics.
Japan has 430 companies in Italy, which employ around 50 thousand people. The reports are also supported by the Italy-Japan Business Group (IJBG), platform for the promotion of industrial collaborations and investments, whose 33rd Assembly took place in Tokyo last November. The next session will take place in Italy in 2024. On 12 December 2023, a joint declaration was also signed between the Minister of Business and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, and his Japanese counterpart to promote industrial synergies and investments in new technologies.
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