What changes after the Biden-Meloni meeting
Dossier, statements and scenarios after Meloni's visit to the White House. Guiglia's notebook
For us, the United States represents the main ally in the world, for them Italy is the essential ally in Europe.
In the name of this "strong and deep" bond, as they defined it in Washington, a bond sealed by the bridge of 25 million Italian-Americans that stretches between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, acquires particular value the first time Giorgia Meloni as prime minister in Congress (where yesterday she met Republican and Democrat representatives) and then in the White House. Not because of the solid relations between the two countries, but because of the international circumstances of the official visit.
THE OBJECTIVE OF THE BIDEN-MELONI MEETING
The face to face with Joe Biden, a Democratic president who has opened his famous Oval Office to just one right-wing leader, Meloni (confirming how pragmatically America puts the common strategic interest before political positions), has a precise goal: to redefine foreign policy at the time of Ukraine, China and Africa.
In the first case, the agreement has never wavered in condemning Putin's aggression and in agreeing with Western countries on measures to help those attacked to defend themselves. An agreement that from Draghi to Meloni has seen the Italian government in the front row, and Biden appreciates the firm continuity.
Discontinuity, on the other hand, is the US request with respect to the expiring agreement made by Rome with Beijing in 2019 by the yellow-green executive of Giuseppe Conte and baptized "New Silk Road". Italy is the only G7 country -a summit which from 2024 will be presided over by Rome- to have signed a special agreement with China. Agreement considered "dangerous" by the United States due to the implications that the foreseen economic, commercial and technological development plan could determine to the exclusive and insidious -for Europe and for America-, Beijing's advantage. So much so that Italy has had fewer benefits than other European states, which also had not negotiated any agreements with the expansionist Xi Jinping. Good and necessary relations with Beijing can be maintained in many other ways.
WHAT ITALY ASKS
In exchange for Italy's rethinking, the United States is asked not only for better economic exchange, but also for geopolitical support in Africa. Where Giorgia Meloni wants to redesign the Italian-European strategy on immigration and promote the Mattei Plan, that is to do more for that continent, launched on July 23 at the international conference in Rome.
Published in L'Arena di Verona, Il Giornale di Vicenza and Bresciaoggi
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This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/incontro-biden-meloni-cosa-cambia/ on Mon, 31 Jul 2023 06:54:37 +0000.