Giorgia Meloni will meet Joe Biden on June 27. This was confirmed by the Italian Prime Minister herself on Wednesday, during a press conference from Vilnius, where she attended the NATO Summit alongside the Alliance’s leaders – including the United States President, who met with and invited her to the White House.
- President Biden had officially invited her during a bilateral call in late June, shortly after the Wagner Group’s stunted mutiny in Russia; the two had spoken as part of their “close coordination” drive.
The many faces of security. “Our freedom has a cost. What we invest in defence comes back tenfold in terms of defending our national interests,” she said, arguing for increased cooperation among NATO Allies. That drive must also extend to Indo-Pacific matters and, most notably, China, she argued, noting the importance of tackling the “systemic rival” holistically – i.e. considering issues such as supply chain security, especially in the field of critical raw materials, and safeguarding technological advantage.
- These considerations come as her government leans towards dropping out of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a dossier that will surely show up during her visit to Washington.
Words from (and on) Vilnius. During the presser, PM Meloni stressed that the NATO Summit had “succeeded in reaffirming […] the unity of the Atlantic Alliance and the determination to defend the values and rules of international law, without which none of us would be safe.”
- Rome, she said, “supports NATO’s ongoing adjustments” – as confirmed “by the significant contributions in the Eastern Flank and in the Mediterranean” – and reiterated her call to devote more attention to the Southern Flank (which the Alliance acted upon).
The Ukraine dossier… The Italian PM also praised the Allies’ “important steps forward [towards Ukraine’s] future accession to NATO.” She explained that the accession path has been streamlined, reiterating that Kyiv will join the Alliance “when conditions allow it.”
… and the G-7’s role. She also highlighted the G-7’s declaration of support to Ukraine, announced by President Biden, and remarked that Italy is set to preside over the Group in 2024 – “an occasion in which we intend to play a leading role, including on the issue of reconstruction,” which she sees as “a way to bet on a future of peace, freedom and Euro-Atlantic welfare” for Ukraine.
Look at the Global South. Finally, PM Meloni called upon the Allies to expand dialogue and ties with the Global South through a “non-predatory approach” – the essence of the upcoming Mattei Plan for Africa, which her government will unveil in October.
- This approach is also functional in countering China and Russia’s influence in these States, as she explained, as well as fostering supply chain diversification and overall security.
