The Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, will be in Vilnius (Lithuania) tomorrow and the following day, 11 and 12 July 2023, together with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Italian Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto, to take part in the Heads of State and Government of the North Atlantic Alliance Summit.

The Vilnius NATO Summit is an important moment of political reaffirmation of allied unity and verification of the progress made in implementing the commitments made at the Madrid Summit in 2022. Particular focus will be on strengthening the deterrence and defence posture in the allied area in the wake of Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Deputy Prime Minister Tajani will take part in the informal meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, as chaired by NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana, and also attended by the Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Moldova, and by EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Borrell.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs’ meeting will primarily serve to reiterate Italy’s continued support for these countries and to illustrate the repercussions of the Russian war against Ukraine on their security and stability. The meeting will also take stock of the implementation of the practical support agreed at the Madrid Summit, and discuss the next operational steps.

“This is a particularly timely meeting, because it goes in the direction of strengthening our practical support to the partners most affected by Russian threats and interference”, Deputy Prime Minister Tajani commented.

Regarding the war in Ukraine, he added that “it is having global repercussions in the entire Euro-Atlantic region, including our Southern Flank. The political and economic stability of North Africa, the Middle East and the Sahel is severely undermined by growing food instability, the resurgence of terrorism, irregular migration flows, the impact of climate change and, last but not least, the negative influence of external powers”.