Briefings & Statements

# United States – Italy Joint Leaders’ Statement

The White House
April 18, 2025

President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni held their first official meeting yesterday in Washington, D.C., where they confirmed their resolve to promote a mutually beneficial relationship and further strengthen the U.S. – Italy strategic alliance across security, economic, and technological issues.
U.S.- Italy Cooperation for Security
The U.S. and Italy underscore that the war in Ukraine must end, and fully endorse President Trump’s leadership in brokering a ceasefire and delivering a just and lasting peace.
The U.S. and Italy reiterate the unwavering commitment to NATO and to the principle of developing their collective and individual capacity to contribute to the Alliance’s goals. We therefore commit to ensuring our national security and defense are aligned and funded to meet the challenges of today, and critically, the risks of tomorrow.
Our defense cooperation must rely on a deep and extensive transatlantic supply chain. We are facing a complex security environment, and we are ready to further increase defense equipment and technology cooperation, including co-production and co-development that strengthen U.S. and Italian defense industrial capacity and protect it from foreign adversaries.
The U.S. and Italy reaffirm their shared commitment to counter illegal immigration and to ensure that legal migration is used as a tool to benefit our nations and not to create a security problem for our citizens. We will step up our common efforts to eradicate international organized crime groups engaged in migrant smuggling and human trafficking.
The U.S. and Italy confirm their joint effort to fight the production, distribution, and sale of illicit synthetic drugs, especially synthetic opioids and the criminal networks trafficking these drugs, which collectively damage the health, security, and well-being of our citizens and people around the world.
U.S. – Italy Cooperation for Shared Prosperity
The United States and Italy agree to work to ensure that trade between the United States and Europe is mutually beneficial, fair, and reciprocal.
We highlight the importance of information technology to enabling free enterprise across the Atlantic. We agreed that a non-discriminatory environment in terms of digital services taxation is necessary to enable investments from cutting-edge tech companies.
We welcome American investments in AI computing and cloud services in Italy to maximize the opportunities of digital transformation and support Italy as the key regional data hub for the Mediterranean and North Africa.
Developing a workforce that can deliver on the needs of our economies is vital. The United States and Italy are proud partners in industrial endeavors that will benefit employment in both countries, playing a vital role for each other’s supply chains and strengthening our industrial bases. Italy will contribute to the maritime renaissance of the U.S. shipbuilding sector, while the U.S. will look into the investment opportunities offered by the increasingly positive Italian business environment, including through the incentives granted by the new Single Special Economic Zone (SEZ) established in Italy.
The U.S. and Italy cooperate to strengthen energy security by further encouraging the diversification of Italy’s energy supply source and by increasing exports of U.S. liquefied natural gas to Italy in a mutually beneficial manner.
The U.S. and Italy will work together to develop the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor, one of the greatest economic integration and connectivity projects of this century, connecting partners by ports, railways, and undersea cables and stimulating economic development and integration from India, to the Gulf to Israel, to Italy, and onward to the United States.
Following the example of the President Trump’s successful Abraham Accords approach, the U.S. and Italy will cooperate on crucial infrastructural projects and consider leveraging on the Mattei Plan’s potential.
U.S. – Italy Cooperation for Technology
The United States and Italy recognize the need to protect our national critical and sensitive infrastructure and technology, which is why we commit to using only trusted vendors in these networks. There is no higher trust than our strategic alliance, which is why there can be no discrimination when it comes to U.S. and Italian vendors.
We are proud to partner on Space Technology, including through two Mars Missions in 2026 and 2028, and lunar surface exploration on future Artemis missions.
As we transition to and innovate on the technologies of the future, such as 6G, AI, quantum computing, and biotechnology, we also commit to exploring opportunities for enhanced partnerships in these critical industries that protect our data from adversaries that would exploit it.
Invitation to Visit Italy
President Trump accepted Prime Minister Meloni’s invitation to pay an official visit to Italy in the very near future. There is also consideration to hold, on such occasion, a meeting between U.S. and Europe.

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