The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hon. Antonio Tajani, had a telephone conversation today with the new Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom, David Lammy. This was the first contact between the two Ministers since the new British government took office and took place the day after the telephone call between Prime Minister Meloni and Prime Minister Starmer.
Minister Tajani said: “I wanted to confirm to Secretary of State Lammy our willingness to continue in the wake of the excellent bilateral relations and broad political convergence between Italy and the UK, which have been strengthened in recent years also thanks to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding for enhanced cooperation between Governments in 2023. We want to further develop this positive collaboration and ensure close coordination – also within the G7 and NATO – on the main international dossiers of common strategic interest, ranging from support to Ukraine to the crisis in the Middle East, from the stability of Africa to migration policies. We also aim to strengthen cooperation at the European level, in light of the new British government’s more dialogue-oriented stance with the EU.”
During the conversation, the virtuous collaboration in the defence sector was also recalled, and – in particular – the political, economic and technological innovation value of the Anglo-Italian-Japanese partnership GCAP/Tempest (Global Combat Air Programme), aimed at the creation of sixth-generation multi-role fighters, intended to replace the current fourth-generation aircraft, such as the Eurofighter.
Finally, both Ministers agreed to meet as soon as possible, also in the margins of the forthcoming multilateral meetings, and to further discuss issues of mutual interest at a forthcoming Ministerial consultation in the 2+2 Foreign/Defence format.
