Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, Joel Kaplan, met with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, underscoring Italy’s potential as a global leader in innovation. He highlighted the benefits of open-source AI and the strong Meta-Italy partnership, stressing the need for a robust regulatory environment to bolster European competitiveness and growth
Meta in Italy. On Thursday, Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, Joel Kaplan, visited Italy, further cementing the country’s reputation as a hub for technological innovation.
- Kaplan’s meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni highlighted Italy’s pivotal role in fostering growth, competitiveness, and open-source AI’s social and economic benefits.
- A longtime Republican political operative, Kaplan served eight years in the George W. Bush administration, including as White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, and he will become the president of global affairs of Meta Platforms in Spring 2025.
Driving the news. After discussions centred on Italy’s opportunity to lead innovation within the EU, in a LinkedIn post, Kaplan stated:
- “It was a pleasure to meet Italian PM Giorgia Meloni and have the opportunity to discuss growth and competitiveness, the social and economic benefits of open source AI & Italy’s growing leadership role as a much needed pro-innovation voice in the EU.”
- “Meta has a great relationship with Italy, which is home to our Ray-Ban Meta partners EssilorLuxottica. There’s a real opportunity ahead for Italy to not only be a world leader in smart glasses and other wearables, but a big force for positive change in the EU’s approach to innovation more broadly.”
Strategic impact. This sentiment was echoed in an interview with Il Foglio, where Kaplan praised Meloni’s transatlantic respect and highlighted Italy as the most attractive European market for investment.
- Kaplan’s remarks underscore Italy’s emerging role as a global innovation hub capable of driving positive change across the EU.
- “Prime Minister Meloni is highly respected on both sides of the Atlantic, she has already established herself as a leader in Europe, and she is also highly respected as a leader in the United States and has developed a very strong relationship with [US] President [Donald] Trump,” he said.
- It puts Meloni and Italy “in a particularly strong position to play a bridging role in transatlantic relations at a critical time for partners on both sides of the Atlantic,” he added.
- His comments also call for a robust regulatory environment to ensure that emerging technologies develop with Western values rather than those of rival powers such as China.
