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Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will conduct a working visit to Italy on Thursday and Friday (Sept. 11-12), according to sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During his visit, Fidan will meet with Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. The Turkish minister will also deliver a speech at the think tank "Istituto Affari Internazionali."
Fidan is expected to emphasize the importance of relations between Türkiye and Italy as two strategic partners and NATO allies during his meetings with his Italian counterpart.
The discussions are expected to highlight the added value of mutual high-level visits to bilateral relations.
The ministers are expected to focus on diversifying cooperation areas between the two countries while maintaining existing ones to achieve the bilateral trade volume target of $40 billion.
Fidan is expected to stress the importance of updating the existing Customs Union between Türkiye and the European Union.
The Turkish Foreign Minister is expected to address opportunities for cooperation in energy security and connectivity in the Mediterranean.
He will emphasize the necessity for all states to act in accordance with international law in their work in the region and underline the importance of cooperation in combating irregular migration.
Discussions will cover the continuation of strengthening defense industry cooperation between Türkiye and Italy, as well as conducting joint work in science, technology and innovation in light of current regional and global developments.
Fidan is expected to address specific issues on the Türkiye-EU relations agenda and cooperation within NATO. The ministers will conduct comprehensive exchanges of views on ensuring peace and stability in Libya.
The Turkish minister is expected to emphasize that pressure on Israel must be increased to end the genocide in Gaza and that the international community must make a joint effort in this direction.
Regional and global developments, particularly in Syria, Ukraine, Iran and Africa, will also be discussed.
The two ministers last met on the margins of the NATO Foreign Ministers Informal Meeting held in Antalya on May 14-15.
The 4th Türkiye-Italy Intergovernmental Summit was held in Rome on April 29 under the chairmanship of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
On August 1, the Türkiye-Italy-Libya Trilateral Leaders Summit was held in Istanbul, hosted by President Erdogan.
Diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Italy, which have deep historical roots, were established in 1856. Bilateral ties have been maintained at the strategic partnership level since 2007.
Bilateral trade volume was recorded as $32.2 billion in 2024. Italy is the fifth-largest country in the world and the second-largest in the EU, where Türkiye exports the most.
In light of strengthening trade ties between the two countries, the bilateral trade volume target was set at $40 billion at the 4th Türkiye-Italy Intergovernmental Summit held in Rome in April.
The defense industry constitutes one of the most important cooperation areas between Türkiye and Italy. In this context, a partnership agreement was signed in March between Baykar and Italian company Leonardo for unmanned aerial systems technologies.
Baykar's acquisition process of Piaggio Aerospace, one of Italy's leading aviation companies, was completed in June. Türkiye is also in contact with Italy regarding the procurement of Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft.
Italy is among Türkiye's most essential partners in the energy sector. Both countries are important participants in the Southern Gas Corridor. Natural gas passing through the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), which forms the basis of the Southern Gas Corridor, began to be transported to Italy via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) at the end of 2020.
Approximately 50,000 Turkish citizens living in Italy make significant contributions to Italy's economy, education, culture and arts.
Both countries are important tourism destinations, with 719,668 Italian tourists visiting Türkiye in 2024.
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