Meloni thanks President Erdoğan for 'migrant flow dropping to zero': We want this to continue

Erdoğan traveled to the capital, Rome, to attend the Fourth Turkey-Italy Intergovernmental Summit at the invitation of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The President was welcomed with an official ceremony by Prime Minister Meloni at Villa Pamphili.

The two leaders held a meeting regarding steps to further advance mutual economic and strategic relations. Following the meeting, Erdoğan and Meloni held a joint press conference.

MELONI: WE REACHED OUR GOAL EARLY

Making the first statement as the host, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said:

"Hundreds of Italian companies are producing in Turkey. We have reached the 30 billion dollar trade volume we desired 5 years early. Now we have a new goal. For our bilateral trade volume to reach 40 billion dollars. Of course, we need to work very hard for this. Large Turkish companies have a desire to invest more in Italy. They bought Baykar, Piaggio Aerospace. On the other hand, they are taking extremely important steps with Leonardo in terms of system maintenance and UAVs.

'MIGRANT FLOW FROM TURKEY HAS DROPPED TO ZERO'

We always strive to evaluate opportunities. We also desire cooperation in space. And in high-speed rail. Turkey and Italy have shared a responsibility. We are the two countries that will host the European Championship in 2032. We are allied countries in Europe and the Mediterranean, and we are NATO countries. The flow of migrants from Turkey has dropped to zero. We want this cooperation of ours to continue. There are very long roads for the two countries to progress together. Thank you very much."

ERDOĞAN: THERE IS A VALUABLE HARMONY BETWEEN US

The statements of AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are as follows:

"As two important NATO allies and strategic partners, we see that our relations have been going even better since the summit we first held in 2008. There is a valuable harmony between us on important issues. Through today's meetings and the documents we signed, we decided to evaluate new areas of cooperation with Italy. Italy is among the top 5 countries in our foreign trade. We have surpassed the 30 billion dollar target in trade.

'THEY ARE AWARE OF OUR CONTRIBUTION TO EUROPEAN SECURITY'

At our summit today, we set our new trade volume target as 40 billion dollars. I believe we will reach this target in the shortest time possible. We will also carry out new projects in the defense industry. Italy is aware of our contribution to Europe's security. It will also contribute to our EU membership goal. Gaza, which is the scene of Israel's inhumane practices, was among our important agenda items. Returning to a ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible is also our priority. We want to host the Italian President and Meloni in Turkey. I thank our Italian friends."