Italy–France Intergovernmental Summit

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"An important and constructive meeting with my French counterpart, Catherine Vautrin, on the occasion of the Italy–France Summit, focusing on the main international security issues on which Italy and France are working side by side. We reaffirmed our shared support for Ukraine and confirmed Italy’s willingness to contribute to a possible international mission to ensure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, provided that there is a stable ceasefire, a clear international legal framework, the consent of the countries of the region, and the necessary authorization from the Italian Parliament.

We also reaffirmed the importance of Lebanon’s stability. In this context, it is essential that, including with a view to the post-UNIFIL phase, the international community adopt a pragmatic and sustainable approach aimed at strengthening the capacities of Lebanon’s national institutions and consolidating the role of the Lebanese Armed Forces as the main pillar of the country’s stabilization and a key element for the security of the entire region. Italy and France are currently developing concrete proposals.

We also discussed European defence, which must grow by overcoming national self-interests and industrial fragmentation, while developing common capabilities, interoperability, and a more integrated technological and industrial base. Within this framework, we agreed on an industrial roadmap to strengthen bilateral cooperation between our respective defence industries, building on our shared capabilities and major joint programmes, starting with the Aster missile family and the SAMP/T NG air defence system, both concrete examples of effective and successful cooperation.

Among the challenges ahead is the need to cooperate even more closely and pool our respective strengths in the space sector through the Bromo Project, with the aim of strengthening Europe’s technological sovereignty and creating critical mass in a sector marked by increasingly intense global competition.

This is a path that strengthens the European pillar of security and makes NATO even more credible and effective. Italy and France share the responsibility of turning this cooperation into concrete results, in the interest of the security of our citizens and international stability." 

Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto