Niinistö discusses Middle East situation with Italian leaders

President Sauli Niinistö held separate meetings with his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the first day of his two-day visit to Italy started on Monday.

Niinistö discussed various issues with the Italian leaders including global security, particularly the situation in the Middle East.

“Started my two-day state visit to Italy with an excellent meeting with President Mattarella. We discussed global security, our long-term support to Ukraine and the good bilateral relations between Finland and Italy,” Niinistö wrote in his twitter after the meeting with Mattarella on Monday.

The President also met Meloni and other leaders of the Italian Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.

“Good to meet with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome. We had a thorough conversation on the security in Europe and the current global challenges, especially on the situation in the Middle East. We also addressed our strong support for Ukraine,” Niinistö wrote in another twitter post after the meeting.

On Tuesday 24 October, the President and First Lady Jenni Haukio will travel to Naples, where Niinistö will visit NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command and meet its commander, Admiral Stuart B. Munsch.

The presidential couple will also attend a lunch hosted by Italian President Mattarella and Laura Mattarella at the official residence of the President, Villa Rosebery.

In addition to the joint programme, Haukio will have a tour of the art collection at the Quirinal Palace with Laura Mattarella and visit art-historical and cultural heritage sites in Rome and Naples.