5 luglio 2022.
The President of the Republic of Türkiye H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic H.E. Mario Draghi cochaired today in Ankara the 3rd Türkiye-Italy Intergovernmental Summit.
The Summit was held with the participation of:
Minister of Foreign Affairs H.E. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu; Minister of National Defense
H.E. Hulusi Akar; Minister of Interior H.E. Süleyman Soylu; Minister of Trade H.E. Mehmet Muş; Minister of Industry and Technology H.E. Mustafa Varank; Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change H.E. Murat Kurum.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Luigi Di Maio; Minister of Defence, Lorenzo Guerini; Minister of Interior, Luciana Lamorgese; Minister of Economic Development, Giancarlo Giorgetti; Minister of Ecological Transition,
Roberto Cingolani from Italy.
After concluding their comprehensive and fruitful deliberations, the President of the Republic of Türkiye and the President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic agreed on the following Joint Declaration:
1. Türkiye and Italy have been united around common values, principles and goals throughout history in Europe and in the Mediterranean region. This remarkable solid foundation allows the two countries to enhance their cooperation in all areas. As two NATO Allies, and partners in the G20, that enjoy close cooperation and coordination with each other on regional and international matters, Türkiye and Italy make significant contribution to international peace and stability in Europe and beyond.
2. The 3rd Summit convened at a time of important developments on a regional and global scale like the Ukraine-Russia war, food and energy insecurity, recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, irregular migration and climate change, as well as natural disasters calling for coherent response and urgent humanitarian assistance.
3. Against this background, the 3rd Summit provided the two countries an opportunity to review their bilateral and multilateral cooperation in all fields and to discuss ways and means to further develop this cooperation with the active participation of their respective public institutions, parliaments, the business world, academia, research centres, and civil society.
On this occasion, the Parties reiterated their common desire to maintain a frank and
open dialogue and confirmed their will and determination for future cooperation.
4. The Parties agreed to hold the Intergovernmental Summit on regular basis and convene the next Summit in Italy.
Economy and Trade.
5. The Parties emphasized their commitment to continue closer dialogue on economy and trade and to define and implement common approaches towards strengthened development in this field.
Welcoming the swift and strong recovery of the bilateral trade volume with a historical record in 2021 despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the Parties confirmed their common will to work together to sustain this growth trend and reach the 30 billion dollars bilateral trade volume target, by further promoting and facilitating trade exchanges and access to their respective markets. Thereby the Parties agreed to hold the Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETCO) meeting and the Business Forum in the last quarter of 2022.
6. The Parties believe that direct investments between the two countries constitute an important aspect of their economic relations. Hence, they decided to further encourage the Turkish and Italian investors in order to increase the level of reciprocal direct investments.
Transportation
7. Having in mind the importance of road transport in increasing trade relations, the Parties acknowledged the necessity to hold the Joint Land Transport Commission meeting at the earliest convenient time so as to address the current needs of the stakeholders in this sector.
Türkiye – EU Relations
8. The Parties underlined the importance of further developing Türkiye-European Union relations based on Türkiye’s accession perspective and its potential contribution to the stability and prosperity of the whole European continent.
9. The Parties agreed to explore possible future steps to enhance all dimensions of Türkiye-EU relations, with a view to enhance Türkiye’s EU perspective by increasing dialogue at all levels and on a wide range of issues, including those related to removing existing irritants arising from the implementation of the Customs Union as well as starting the negotiations to update it. The Parties also agreed to coordinate their efforts so as to achieve concrete results in key areas such as Türkiye-EU visa liberalization dialogue, renewing cooperation on migration, strengthening counter-terrorism cooperation and deepening current cooperation under pre-accession funds (IPA) and various EU programmes/ mechanisms.
Defence
10. Within the framework of the decisions taken at the NATO Madrid Summit as well as the new Strategic Concept, the Parties stressed their determination to strengthen their cooperation on the basis of the 360-degree approach, in particular on issues such as threats and challenges emanating from the south, especially on the fight against terrorism. The Parties confirmed the importance of enhancing the NATO-EU Strategic partnership on the basis of our longstanding cooperation and that Non-EU Allies’, and namely Türkiye’s, fullest involvement in EU defense efforts is essential for the development of this partnership.
Defence Industry
11. Referring to the successfully concluded joint projects of the Turkish and Italian defence industry companies in recent years and the political will to further this cooperation, the Parties acknowledged the fact that defence industry plays a key role both in terms of their current and prospective relations. In this framework, the Parties welcomed the signature of the “Agreement on Mutual Protection of Classified Information in Defence Industry”.
Police Cooperation
12. The Parties have agreed on the will to strengthen the police cooperation towards
the creation of a Joint Security Strategic Cooperation Committee (JSSCC), with the
following aims:
– identify and assess threats and common challenges to the security of the two respective countries;
– identify the areas in which it is necessary to reinforce strategic cooperation also by defining common initiatives and actions to guarantee the security of their communities;
– promote the exchange of methods, good practices and expertise in order to prevent the most serious forms of crime, including terrorism and cybercrime;
– assess any other activity that can be useful to enhance police cooperation, also considering the emerging critical situations that may impact on public order and security.
Relations in the Fields of Culture, Education, Science, Youth, Sports and Archives
13. The Parties confirmed their commitment to further advance and strengthen the existing cooperation in the fields of culture, education, science, youth, sports and archives on the basis of the Cultural Agreement of 1951. They reiterated their will to support incentive and promotional activities taking into account the impact of tourism on the revival of interaction between peoples.
Counter Terrorism
14. The Parties have expressed their will to cooperate in line with the objective of effective fight against all forms and manifestations of terrorism.
Energy, Climate Change and Environment
15. As members of the Paris Agreement and partners in the G20, the Parties have confirmed their commitment to increase cooperation in the field of environmental protection and climate action, with a view to achieve carbon neutrality or net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by or around mid-century, in order to keep 1,5°C increase within reach.
16. The Parties appraised the solid cooperation on energy diversification as partners in the “Southern Gas Corridor” and reiterated their commitment to advancing their collaboration acknowledging the inclusive value of energy as a factor of common growth, security and prosperity, also in the Mediterranean. The Parties, therefore, reiterated their commitment to advancing their ongoing cooperation in the field of energy to ensure supply security and diversification. They underlined the importance of including renewable energy, energy efficiency and infrastructures, hydrogen as well as the gas sector in the clean energy transition.
Ukraine – Russia War
17. The Parties expressed their solidarity with Ukraine in the face of the unjust and unlawful war waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and their support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine; reiterated their will to continue their efforts to bring peace to Ukraine as soon as possible.
The Parties reaffirmed their determination to work with the UN and other relevant agencies on similar humanitarian issues, stressing the urgent need to take measures to remove barriers to grain exports from Ukraine.
18. The Parties affirmed that they will continue to contribute to the initiatives towards global food security by enhancing their coordination and cooperation. The Parties emphasized that Türkiye’s co-chairing of the “Mediterranean Ministerial Dialogue on the Food Security Crisis”, which was successfully held in Rome on 8 June 2022 under the leadership of Italy, constituted a positive step in the context of efforts in this direction.
Cooperation in International Fora
19. The Parties reaffirmed their commitment to pursue regular strategic dialogue with a view to contributing to regional and international peace, security and stability as well as their commitment to multilateralism, with the United Nations (UN) at itscore. In this context, the Parties expressed their satisfaction with the ongoing bilateral cooperation within the UN, including its reform, and committed to uphold the three pillars of the UN system namely peace and security, development and human rights.
Irregular Migration
20. The Parties discussed recent migration trends, including the Eastern and Central Mediterranean migration routes. The Parties have also stressed the importance of international cooperation including the implementation of Türkiye-EU 18 March 2016 Statement in combatting irregular migration. They recalled that returns, resettlements and financial assistance are key tools foreseen by the Statement in order to ensure good cooperation and fair burden sharing. The parties agreed the launch of regular consultations on migrations and to implement a project of the Italian Migration Fund for sharing best practices in the field.
Eastern Mediterranean Region
21. As two maritime countries, the Parties agreed on the need to promote freedom of navigation and inclusive cooperation in the Mediterranean in the face of increasing energy risks.
The Parties stressed the importance of solving disputes over maritime delimitations by agreement on the basis of international law, in order to achieve an equitable solution. The Parties noted that holding a Multilateral Conference on the Eastern Mediterranean – when the necessary conditions are met – might be an opportunity to establish an inclusive cooperation in the region.
Libya
22. The Parties reaffirmed their strong commitment to Libya’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and national unity, firmly rejecting any unilateral action that could lead to violence or to greater divisions in the country; stressed the importance of holding free, fair and country-wide presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible on a sound legal basis, They reiterated their support for the UNfacilitated political process led and owned by Libya itself.
Syria
23. The Parties expressed their deep concern about the crisis in Syria and reiterated their support to the political process facilitated by the UN which aims to find a political solution to the ongoing conflict in Syria in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254. In this regard, the Parties encourage the Syrian sides to engage in meaningful and constructive negotiations at the Constitutional Committee.
24. The Parties underlined the urgent need to address the humanitarian crisis in Syria in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 2585 and called upon the members of the UN Security Council to renew the Resolution. The Parties also decided to continue their extensive consultations on all the aspects of the Syrian crisis, including the issue of refugees and their safe, voluntary and dignified return.
Concluding Remarks
25. The Parties agreed to continue regular high-level bilateral meetings.
The Parties also decided to continue regular meetings on bilateral and EU Issues, regional consultations on developments in East Europe, Mediterranean Region, Middle East, Balkans, Asia and Africa and any other relevant international issues.
The Parties agreed to intensify the cooperation between the Diplomatic Academies and strategic research centres and/or policy planning units at the respective Ministries of Foreign Affairs.
The parties have agreed to enhance cooperation in public diplomacy activities and explore strategic communication approaches in foreign policy issues involving the two countries.
26. The following agreements were signed on the occasion of the Summit. The parties emphasized their conviction that the signing of these agreements will further enhance their bilateral relations which already benefit from a vast infrastructure of agreements.
– Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Türkiye and the Government of the Italian Republic on Mutual Protection of Classified Information in Defence Industry
– Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Türkiye and the Government of the Italian Republic on the Mutual Recognition and Conversion of Driving Licenses
– Memorandum of Understanding Between the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Türkiye and the Department of Civil Protection of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the Italıan Republıc on Cooperation in the Field of Civil Protection
– Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in the field of Sustainable Development between Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, Presidency of Strategy and Budget and the Ministry of Ecological Transition of the Italian Republic
– Memorandum of Understanding between The Ministry of Industry and Technology of the Republic of Türkiye and The Ministry of Economic Development of the Italian Republic in the field of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
– Memorandum of Understanding on Political Consultations Between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Italian Republic
– Memorandum of Understanding Between the Diplomacy Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye and the Training Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Italian Republic
– Joint Declaration toward the Renewal of the Executive Programme on Scientific and Technological Cooperation for the Years 2023-2025
– Letter of Intent on establishing cooperation between Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) and MED Dialogues
PDF:
Joint_Declaration_3rd_Turkiye_Italy_Intergovernmental_Summit_5July2022_Ankara
