Giorgia Meloni obtains support from Recep Tayyip Erdogan to limit migratory flows from Libya, trying to replicate the shared efforts that have slowed down those on the Turkey-Italy route.
This is the main news that emerged from the more than two-hour meeting in Istanbul, in which the prime minister thanked the Turkish president for the mediation efforts between Ukraine and Russia, in particular on the wheat agreement.
On the other great geopolitical crisis, the one between Israel and Hamas, there is decidedly less emphasis in the report filtering through from Italian sources, according to which the war in Gaza is part of the discussion on major global issues, also in light of the newly established G7 presidency passed on the shoulders of the government of Rome.
Video Meloni in Istanbul, the meeting with Erdogan
We can intuit different sensitivities on that delicate dossier, which in any case was handled and on which Meloni keeps the point on the objective of the two States.
Italy is trying to move with balance in the Middle Eastern powder keg, while Erdogan has for some time been inflaming his attacks on Israel.
And it is perhaps no coincidence that Anadolu, the Turkish state agency, shortly after the meeting reiterated the words spoken 24 hours earlier by the Democratic Party secretary Elly Schlein on the need to avoid sending weapons to Israel.
However, "the wars being fought on the borders of Europe concern us", as President Sergio Mattarella warned, recalling that "Europe has inscribed the word peace in its identity" and calling "the rulers to responsibility".
Tensions in the Red Sea are the latest geopolitical emergency that has also entered the agenda of the Italian executive and Meloni in a disruptive way, who has chosen the delicate mission in Istanbul to begin a series of international commitments (the next one in Japan at the beginning of February ) in the year of the G7.
In the hours in which Meloni lands at Ataturk airport, local TV channels are focused on the first Turkish astronaut on board the International Space Station, in which the Italian Walter Villadei is also part of the mission.
His visit begins from the Grand Bazaar, the largest and oldest market in Istanbul, an obligatory stop for tourists.
Surrounded by escort agents, the prime minister receives applause from shopkeepers and onlookers present, she exchanges a few jokes with those who greet her in Italian, among those who offer her a Turkish coffee and a kazandibi, a typical chicken-based dessert.
Video Melons in Istanbul, visit the bazaar
Then Erdogan receives her at the Vahdettin palace, a presidential residence on the Asian side of the city, hit by a strong storm.
Between the interview and the official dinner (without the usual final statements to the press), in about two and a half hours the priorities shared between the two NATO allies overlooking the Mediterranean are addressed.
Starting from the instability of the southern bank of the basin.
The objective is to strengthen migratory cooperation which, Italian sources note, last year led to a 56% reduction in irregular flows along the Italy-Turkey corridor.
It will also be increasingly closer in relation to Libya (where Ankara has a stabilizing effect as well as, like Rome, strong interests in the energy field), where the respective Foreign Ministries intend to conclude an agreement soon.
Security and development of the African continent were also discussed in view of the next Italy-Africa summit in Rome, with which the prime minister aims to give impetus to the Mattei Plan.
It would not have gone beyond "an exchange of ideas" on relations between the European Union and Turkey, while the accession process about which Meloni, when he was in opposition, did not fail to express doubts is at a standstill.
Bilateral relations are also on the table.
Commercial trade, explain Italian sources, has exceeded 25 billion euros and is approaching the shared objective of at least 30 billion in 2030. The economic opportunities for Italian companies were also examined, in particular in the defense sector, and therefore for Leonardo.
Astore drones could be equipped with light missiles or guided rockets like the Cirit system from the Turkish company Roketsan.
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