G20 Summit: President Meloni meets with the Prime Minister of Japan and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

In the margins of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the President of the Council of Ministers ,Giorgia Meloni, had a meeting today with the Prime Minister of Japan, Shigeru Ishiba, and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer.

The meeting focused in particular on the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), the highly strategic international partnership between Italy, the United Kingdom and Japan whose shared ambition is to develop a sixth-generation fighter jet.

During the meeting, President Meloni stressed the importance of the initiative, which is a priority in terms of national security, economic growth and job creation and allows Italy, the United Kingdom and Japan to pool the most advanced technologies in the field of defence.

The three leaders expressed satisfaction with the programme’s progress following parliamentary approval of the law ratifying the GIGO (GCAP International Government Organisation) Convention, which will enable the Agency tasked with managing the programme to officially begin operations, as per the mandate from the three nations. Lastly, the three heads of government agreed on the importance of the project continuing to make fast progress, reaffirming the common intention to further strengthen the ongoing collaboration, and discussed potentially expanding the project to also involve other international partners.