Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni travels to Norway on Thursday for an official visit hosted by Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, almost 15 years after the last visit to the country by an Italian prime minister.
Decoding the news: According to Italian government sources, the mission is intended to strengthen the partnership between Rome and Oslo, beginning with energy and extending it into areas where the two countries see complementary industrial and technological capabilities.
- The agenda includes critical raw materials, defence and security, space and the underwater domain, alongside talks on Ukraine, Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the Arctic and cooperation in Africa.
Why it matters: Energy remains the foundation of the relationship — but its strategic meaning has changed.
- Europe’s break with its previous dependence on Russian energy after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine increased Norway’s importance as a reliable supplier to European markets. For Italy, the relationship also has an industrial dimension, including Eni’s substantial presence in the Norwegian energy sector through Vår Energi.
- Now the closure of Hormuz is providing another reminder that diversification is not simply about replacing one supplier with another. It is about reducing exposure to geopolitical disruption — whether generated by a hostile state, a war or the vulnerability of a maritime chokepoint.
- That makes Norway particularly relevant: geography, political stability and an established energy relationship give Oslo a role in European energy security that goes beyond volumes alone.
The bigger picture: Rome now wants to use that energy relationship as the foundation for something broader.
- Italian government sources point to critical raw materials as one area where cooperation could deepen, alongside defence and security, space and subsea technologies.
- The Italy-Norway Business Forum held in Rome in June, they say, confirmed growing interest among companies from both countries in developing long-term technological and industrial partnerships. Meloni’s visit will include a working dinner with representatives of leading Italian and Norwegian companies to discuss investment and cooperation in the strategic sectors covered by the bilateral relationship.
The underwater dimension is particularly significant. Energy infrastructure, subsea cables and maritime technologies increasingly sit at the intersection between industrial policy and national security, making expertise developed around offshore activities relevant well beyond the traditional energy sector.
The Russia factor: Norway’s growing importance to European energy security cannot be separated entirely from the confrontation with Moscow.
- Russia’s war against Ukraine was the catalyst for Europe’s accelerated energy diversification, while Russian hybrid activities across Europe have increasingly focused attention on the protection of critical infrastructure and strategic economic assets.
- For Norway, these questions carry an additional geographical dimension because of the High North and its border with Russia. For Italy, closer cooperation with Oslo therefore connects two priorities that are increasingly difficult to separate: securing energy supplies and protecting the infrastructure that makes those supplies possible.
The Norwegian visit comes as Rome is itself paying closer attention to Russian hybrid activity and economic pressure against Italian interests. In this sense, cooperation with Oslo fits into a wider effort to strengthen resilience alongside European and NATO partners.
Zoom out: The partnership is not intended to stop at Europe. According to Italian government sources, Meloni and Støre will also explore possible cooperation in Africa, combining Italy’s Mattei Plan with Norway’s development initiatives, particularly in energy, infrastructure and sustainable development.
The Arctic provides another frontier. Rome and Oslo see the region as increasingly relevant for security, shipping routes, resources and scientific research, while also considering it a natural area for bilateral cooperation.
There is a historical symmetry to the visit. It takes place during the centenary of the 1926 flight of the Norge, led by Umberto Nobile and Roald Amundsen — an Italian-Norwegian expedition across an Arctic that is now acquiring an entirely new strategic significance.
The bottom line: The energy shocks of recent years have made Norway more important to Italy. The objective in Oslo is to turn that necessity into a more durable strategic relationship.
- Energy remains the anchor. But critical minerals, industrial cooperation, the underwater domain and security increasingly belong to the same conversation.
