Türkiye, Italy sign joint declaration at 4th intergovernmental summit

Türkiye and Italy signed a joint declaration Tuesday following the 4th Italy-Türkiye Intergovernmental Summit held in Rome.

“Italy and Türkiye, as NATO Allies and partners in the G20, will continue their close cooperation and coordination on regional and international matters,” the declaration said, according to Türkiye's Communications Directorate.

Noting that the two countries make important contributions to global peace and stability in Europe and beyond, the declaration said they aim at enhancing their cooperation via “regular consultations at all levels.”

“The Summit has convened at a time of important developments on a regional and global scale, such as the Ukraine-Russia war, emerging debates on the European security architecture as well as international trade, the dire situation in Gaza, continued challenges like irregular migration and climate change, calling for a coherent response and effective collaboration,” it said.

The two countries reaffirmed their agreement to hold the intergovernmental summit on a regular basis and to convene the fifth summit in Türkiye.

On Türkiye and European Union relations, the declaration said that recognizing the contributions of Türkiye to the stability and prosperity of the entire European continent, the parties underlined the importance of developing relations between the EU and Türkiye, taking into account Türkiye's candidate status to the accession.

“In this vein, the parties agreed to coordinate their efforts to achieve concrete results in key areas such as accelerating the Türkiye-EU Visa Liberalization Dialogue, renewing cooperation on migration and strengthening counter-terrorism cooperation,” it added.

The parties also underlined the immediate need for the modernization of the Türkiye-EU Customs Union, which will have potential benefits for both sides.

“The parties agreed to work together to achieve the new target and in this regard to hold the Third Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETCO) Meeting in Türkiye in the fourth quarter of 2025. Thereby they also welcomed the holding of the Business Forum on the margins of today's Summit,” it said.

“The parties recognized the vital role of transport corridors in both maintaining global supply chains and contributing to social and economic development; expressed their satisfaction on the existing maritime relations and committed to further enhancing them. Underscoring the importance of road transport in increasing trade relations, the parties acknowledged the results of the last Joint Committee on Road Transport,” it added.

“Within the framework of the decisions taken at the recent NATO Summits as well as of the Strategic Concept, the parties stressed their determination to strengthen their cooperation on the basis of the 360-degree approach, in particular on issues such as threats and multifaceted challenges emanating from the Southern Flank of the Alliance, especially on the fight against terrorism,” it said.

“The parties confirmed their willingness to enhance the NATO-EU Strategic partnership as agreed and reaffirmed the importance of fullest possible involvement of Non-EU Allies in EU's defense efforts for the development of this partnership,” it added.