Italy and Turkey inaugurated on Tuesday a “civilization bridge” aimed at boosting cooperation in the Mediterranean and support Turkey’s entrance in Europe.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini met with his Turkish colleague Ahmet Davutoglu at the Italy-Turkey Forum to discuss crucial issues including illegal immigration, interreligious dialogue, poverty, terrorism, human trafficking and the Middle East peace process, according to ANSA news agency.
Frattini stressed that these represented “common political goals that both Italy and Turkey must persevere to ensure safety in the Mediterranean.”
The two countries shared “a common challenge,” he added, saying it was therefore essential that they cooperated in “preventing and facing” all kinds of threats.
The bond between Italy and Turkey, said Frattini, is strong because of a millenary cultural and historical common background.
“Italy and Turkey have always been focused on the joint mission of approaching different universes,” said Frattini, who observed however that the privileged relationship was also political, economic and energetic.
According to Frattini, “Turkey represents a strategic Mediterranean hub for energetic safety” which is a winning asset in Turkey’s integration process in the European Union (EU).
The minister confirmed Italy’s support for Turkey’s entry in the EU because it was “an irreversible process” that would lead to benefits for all, adding that religious issues must not be an obstacle.
“Turkey has accomplished incredible economic progress in recent years and we must especially look at this,” he argued.
On Tuesday Frattini and Davutoglu published a letter on leading Italian daily La Repubblica, calling on European leaders to move on with the negotiations and ignore purely “cultural” barriers.
On the need to boost efforts for the promotion of the Middle East process, Frattini attacked Israel’s decision to build new settlements and praised Turkey’s “neighborhood” and mediation role with regard as well to other thorny issues such as Afghanistan, the Balkans and the Iranian nuclear program.