The Prime Minister, Paolo Gentiloni, went to the US for his first official visit to the White House during which he will meet US President Donald Trump. During the meeting, scheduled for today at 15 pm local time (21 pm in Italy), the two leaders will discuss the most important issues of the last period: Syria, Libya, Italy's opposition to protectionist policies that damage trade and world economies, the revival of Italy and the old continent, military spending.
First, however, the Premier went to the think tank "Center for strategic and international studies" (Csis) in Washington, where he spoke of "Security in the Mediterranean as a cornerstone of global stability". We need to "mitigate the storm" of the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean, a "sea which has played a crucial role in human history and which continues to have an important influence on humanity but which in recent years has been associated with chaos and fragmentation".
“Libya remains at the top of our priorities. A country where the errors of our past vision are clearer. The Italy-USA partnership is not only an opportunity but a duty”.
“Now – Gentiloni pointed out – it is time for the USA and Italy to work together to stabilize the situation in Libya”. No division, but on the contrary "a confrontation between global players and then between the Sunnis, but I don't think that dividing Libya into two different parts, one closer to Egypt and the other more Islamic is a good idea because it could lead more destabilization and external intervention”.
During his speech, the Premier reaffirmed Italy's priorities: "the effective management of the flows of migrants towards Europe, the stabilization of the Middle East and Africa and the fight against terrorism and Daesh in particular". According to Gentiloni it is necessary “cooperate to avoid conflicts and better crisis management.
The Prime Minister also spoke about the Italian journalist Gabriel Del Grande, arrested in Türkiye: "I hope the problem is resolved quickly". This, he stressed, is "just one example of the fact that we need a commitment to an inclusive process" of the entire Turkish population, in "respect for fundamental rights", he added more generally of the situation in Turkey.
