Italy-Japan cooperation essential for security says Meloni

(ANSA) - ROME, MAY 18 - Close cooperation between Italy and Japan is essential for security and economic security, Premier Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday at the start of a bilateral meeting with the Japanese Premier Fumio Kishida in Hiroshima.
"I am very happy to be here," said Meloni, who is in Japan for the G7 summit, congratulating her Japanese counterpart for the "determination and seriousness with which you are managing the G7 in a year that is certainly not easy. " "Given that Italy is the next president of the G7, it is even more crucial that our cooperation is very close," she continued.
"We are two regional powers that have roles of responsibility together with the G7 leaders, at this stage it is crucial that we work together for security, and for economic security," Meloni said.
The Italian premier added that she was "very pleased" with the follow-up to commitments made during a visit by Kishida to Rome in January, when the two countries raised their ties to strategic partnership level.
"We have concluded the agreement on scientific and technological cooperation and the agreement on film productions," Meloni said.
Earlier, the Japanese premier expressed his condolences to Meloni for the victims of the flooding in Emilia Romagna, which has left nine people confirmed dead and thousands displaced from their homes and caused damage running to billions of euros.
In January Meloni described the new strategic partnership between Italy and Japan as a "significant step and a strengthening of our contacts with the opening of new opportunities".
"In addition to ensuring full support to Ukraine, we want to work with the Japanese presidency (of the G7) on certain priorities proposed by Japan, such as the protection of the rules-based international order, strengthening economic security, protecting supply chains and upping the fight against climate change," she said at the time.
"These are all challenges on which there is a lot of work to be done, we will deepen these issues related to international politics, starting with the consequences of the war in Ukraine," Meloni added. (ANSA).