The Prime Minister met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in
Rome this afternoon - the latest in his series of visits with
European leaders to reset and strengthen the UK's relationship
with its closest partners.
They had a warm and constructive discussion, focused on the vital
importance of the UK-Italy relationship, particularly as NATO
allies and G7 partners. They both agreed to continue deepening
our friendship across areas including trade, migration and
defence to further benefit the British and Italian people.
Both welcomed the significant sum of Italian investment into the
UK announced today, worth nearly half a billion pounds -
demonstrating the strength of our bilateral trade relationship to
create jobs and drive economic growth.
They acknowledged the growing problem of irregular migration,
with the incident in the Channel yesterday serving as yet another
devastating reminder of the impact of vile people smuggling gangs
who continue to profit from people's suffering.
The Prime Minister reflected on his visit to the National
Coordination Centre in Rome this morning, accompanied by the UK's
newly appointed Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt. They
agreed to take immediate steps to enhance our cross-border
collaboration, learning from Italy's success at reducing illegal
migration by 60% in the last year through upstream work and
enforcement.
They both reaffirmed their support for Ukraine, agreeing that the
UK and Italy will stand with them for as long as it takes for
Russia to withdraw. On the Middle East, they agreed on the need
for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and more
aid flows into Gaza.
Against an increasingly challenging international backdrop, the
leaders agreed it was more important than ever to work closely on
our defence and foreign policy alongside other like-minded
partners, to preserve peace and stability.
They agreed to keep in close contact in order to build on the
progress made today.
