As the Memorandum of Understanding keeping Italy in the Belt and Road Agreement is up for renewal, Minister Lollobrigida – a close ally of PM Meloni – stressed that the government would “move in concert” with allies. Meanwhile, the government looks to India and the UAE through the PM’s upcoming trips
Italy treads lightly on the Silk Road. On Monday, speaking to Il Messaggero, Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida (a loyalist and close ally of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni) said that Rome “will move in concert with the European States and also with the United States [and] NATO countries” regarding the possible renewal of the Belt and Road initiative memorandum of Understanding between Rome and Beijing.
- The government will act “with a great deal of caution, [that which] that was not there in the past,” said the minister, referring to the previous government (led by then-Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte) that signed the MoU in 2019.
- That MoU turned Italy into the only G7 country to enter the BRI. As it stands, it is set to auto-renew in 2024 – unless either China or Italy takes a step back. Läs artikel