Minister Luigi Di Maio received today at the Foreign Ministry Armin Laschet, Minister President of the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia and candidate for CDU presidency.
The Minister first of all thanked President Laschet for the generosity and help received from Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia during the most acute phase of the health emergency: the Land has in fact hosted numerous Italian patients in the intensive care of its hospitals. The two interlocutors therefore agreed on the possibility of working to further strengthen economic and commercial relations between Italy and North Rhine-Westphalia, one of the Lander with which our bilateral exchange is higher, thus counteracting the negative effects of the economic crisis caused by Covid.
The main current European issues were discussed: the two interlocutors agreed on the need for the Recovery Fund to also represent an element of transformation of the European economy, in order to make it more competitive, digital, sustainable and inclusive, and on how it can also promote industrial cooperation between Italy and Germany, in particular with North Rhine-Westphalia. It also touched on the issue of migration management according to a logic of responsibility and solidarity, in parallel with greater collaboration with countries of origin and transit. Minister Di Maio recalled that the strengthening of States’ responsibilities in the management of migration flows must go hand in hand with an increase in solidarity between European partners. The colloquium also provided an opportunity for an exchange on the need to strengthen the sustainability of environmental policies also within the European framework.
