Peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, artificial intelligence, relations with developing nations and emerging economies: these are the three areas on which the Italian presidency of the G7 intends to guarantee continuity with that of Japan,
as emerges on the eve of the visit Giorgia Meloni
's official meeting
in Tokyo, from Sunday to Tuesday, with the highlight on Monday (at 10.30 am Italian time), when the prime minister will have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The meeting, a sort of handover, aims to strengthen diplomatic relations, elevated to the rank of strategic partnership just over a year ago, with a country that is increasingly fundamental for Rome, which has set aside the Silk Road and focuses on the one that goes from the Indo-Pacific to the Mediterranean.
The Japanese-led G7 has "contributed to shifting the center of gravity of attention" towards this region, note Italian sources, "also in terms of economic security and combating the phenomenon of economic coercion".
The stability of the Indo-Pacific is a "shared priority", and Meloni will underline the "crucial role" of Japan,
in the heart of a region where there are increasingly strong concerns about the worsening of tensions around Taiwan.
Defense and security are two topics on which we work in harmony.
It is no coincidence that Rome underlines the "progress" within the Gcap, the Global Combat Air Program for the development of sixth generation fighters in which Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom are partners.
The aircraft carrier Cavour could also arrive in Japanese waters in the coming months, as part of the Rim of the Pacific, the largest naval exercise in the world, scheduled for the summer around the Hawaiian Islands.
Foreign policy issues will be at the center of the working dinner, which will take place after the initial conversation and joint statements to the press.
The crisis in Gaza, the situation in the Red Sea, Afghanistan and the situation in Ukraine are the geopolitical crises that Meloni and Kishida will discuss, after having explored the issues that will be continued in the G7 presidency.
In particular, Artificial Intelligence: Rome wants to follow up on the Hiroshima process,
launched to promote ethical barriers for advanced AI systems at a global level, delving into the issue of guiding principles and code of conduct for companies developing this technology .
The mission to Tokyo also aims to strengthen economic and industrial cooperation
.
Also for this reason, before the bilateral meeting, the Prime Minister will meet the leaders of some of the main Japanese companies, to promote collaborations and attract investments in Italy, in particular in the sectors of microelectronics (read semiconductors), AI, energy transition, aerospace, biomedicine and robotics.
If over 400 Japanese companies operate in Italy with around 50 thousand employees, in the Land of the Rising Sun there are more than 160 Italian ones, in sectors with high technological content such as chemistry, pharmaceuticals, automotive, green energy and steel plants, and other more traditional ones , such as fashion, jewelry and agro-industry.
Among other things, Italian kiwi producers are aiming to land on the Japanese market.
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