Italy’s new prime minister Giorgia Meloni has met with the secretary-general of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, to discuss the common challenges facing the alliance.
As reported by Italian broadcaster RaiNews24, the two leaders met at the Palazzo Chigi in Rome before appearing together to give a press conference.
In her comments, Meloni, who is the leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, made specific reference to the need for members of NATO to “defend the common values of our Western identity”. She went on to say that Italy was a “serious and loyal nation” in terms of its commitments to the alliance.
In response, Stoltenberg recalled the historic role that Italy had played in the founding of NATO and stated that “Italy can always count on NATO and NATO can always count on Italy”. The secretary-general also congratulated Meloni on her appointment as prime minister and expressed his hope “to be able to work closely together”.
On top of discussing the alliance, the two leaders also spoke about adapting to the challenge of cyberwarfare. Stoltenberg stated that “Italy and the United States are both great examples of strong cyber defenses”, and in particular cited how in May, Italy had published its new National Cybersecurity Strategy.
Stoltenberg also referred to how in the years prior to the invasion, NATO had helped Ukraine to strengthen their cybersecurity. He said that as a result of this support, Russia had failed in their attempts to bring down Kiev’s government departments, army and emergency services on the eve of the invasion.
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