President of the Republic of Finland Alexander Stubb visited Italy from 3 to 4 July 2024. The working visit was hosted by President of Italy Sergio Mattarella.
President Stubb held formal discussions with President Mattarella at the Quirinale Palace in Rome on Thursday 4 July. Topics discussed included the security situation in Europe and support for Ukraine. The Presidents also discussed relations between Finland and Italy, trade between the two countries and Finnish companies operating in Italy.
– It is an honour to visit Italy. Italy is in many ways a key player in European security and politics. Italy has good relations with all directions, with Africa, with the Middle East and also with China. These relations are important not only for Italy, but for Europe as a whole, President Stubb said.
In the afternoon, President Stubb met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The President and the Prime Minister discussed cooperation between Europe and Africa, relations between Europe and China and preparations for the upcoming NATO Summit.
– Italy and Finland see the world in the same way. Alongside a united Europe and a strong alliance, we also need genuine cooperation with countries that do not agree with us on everything, the President said.
In the morning, before the bilateral meetings, President Stubb took part in a discussion analysing from different perspectives the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the security challenges facing Europe. The debate, which brought together foreign and security policy experts and academics, was organised by the think tank Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI).
On Wednesday 3 July, president Stubb met Finnish and Italian business and industry representatives at a dinner hosted by Ambassador of Finland to Italy, Matti Lassila. In addition to the meetings, President Stubb gave interviews to Italian media on Finland’s security policy approach and objectives for next week’s NATO Summit in Washington D.C.
