Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are meeting in Rome for the fourth intergovernmental summit between their countries, at a time when bilateral ties, spanning defence and commerce are gaining new momentum.

The two leaders have previously met in multilateral settings, from the United Nations to NATO summits, discussing a range of geopolitical challenges including the war in Ukraine, the rehabilitation of Syria’s government into the global community, and strengthening of defence and trade cooperation.

“The summit goes well… At bilateral relations there is the signature of a joint declaration aiming at increasing the bilateral trade to 40 billion,” said Valeria Giannotta, Scientific Director at the CeSPI Observatory on Türkiye. Speaking to TRT World from the summit, where she is moderating a thematic session, Giannotta highlighted the growing momentum.

Alongside the high-level political summit between Meloni and Erdogan, a business forum will bring together more than 500 Turkish and Italian entrepreneurs seeking to explore new investment opportunities.

“Growing synergies”

During the summit, “It has been declared that Türkiye is an ‘extraordinary element for Italy’,” says Giannotta, underlining how mutual ties between the two states are tightening up. “Many Memorandum of Understandings are going to be signed in different sectors. On the business perspective the focus is energy, circular economy, defence and innovation in manufacturing.”

Excitement around the summit is palpable. “We are very excited. I think all the Turks here share the same excitement,” Elif Comoglu Ulgen, Turkish Ambassador to Italy, told Anadolu Agency (AA). “We have been preparing for this summit for a long time,” she added, noting that enthusiasm is matched on the Italian side.

“The bilateral trade volume between the two countries has significantly increased in recent years from $10 billion in 2019 to $32.2 billion by the end of 2024,” said Ulgen.

More than 1,600 Italian-capitalised companies now operate in Türkiye, with investments totalling $5 billion, according to Lale Cander, President of the Türkiye–Italy Business Council at the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK). “Investments are concentrated in sectors such as automotive, energy, infrastructure, logistics, banking and food. Companies such as Fiat, Pirelli, Eni and Barilla have been operating effectively in Türkiye for many years,” she told AA.

Cander spoke of another trend. “Turkish companies have begun to become visible in Italy, primarily in the textile, food and automotive sub-industry. The increase in investments centred on high technology and R&D in particular shows that Turkish capital in Italy is also undergoing a transformation.”

Giannotta highlighted the evolving character of this relationship: “The future is made by growing synergies. Also in the third markets,” she says, pointing to potential joint ventures in Africa. “Beside the growing synergies there is also the intention to work on regulamentation,” she says. “The goal is to have a normative framework which may boost the trust of both Turkish and Italian companies.”

Boosting defence ties

There are signs galore of this deepening partnership as defence collaboration is emerging as a particular area of focus.

On April 7th, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto visited Ankara for talks with his Turkish counterpart, Yasar Guler, on strengthening military ties between the two NATO allies.

During the ongoing summit, defence ties are also a particular focus. Both sides have emphasised that they have a natural responsibility to ensure stability and security across the Mediterranean region, according to Giannotta. 

Earlier this year, Baykar, Türkiye’s leading drone manufacturer, whose unmanned systems have seen deployment from Azerbaijan to Libya, Ukraine and Ethiopia, signed a strategic agreement with Leonardo SpA, the Italian aerospace and defence giant. As of late last year, Baykar also acquired Piaggio Aerospace.

“With Baykar, we are creating a new reference player in unmanned technologies, which will play an increasingly central role in the future of defence,”said Roberto Cingolani, CEO of Leonardo SpA. The partnership is expected to unlock fresh opportunities in Europe’s projected $100bn defence market.

From Baykar’s acquisition of Piaggio Aerospace to the establishment of the Leonardo-Baykar joint venture, recent developments “have elevated” Turkish-Italian relationship to “a new strategic level, particularly in the aerospace sector”, Giannotta wrote in a previous report related to the current Rome summit.