Italy is ready to contribute to Gaza, this is a great opportunity, said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after the end of the international summit dedicated to Gaza, held yesterday in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Meloni participated in the forum, alongside leaders of various countries, including those of the United States, France, Spain, Germany, and others, ANSA recalled, BTA reported.
“This is a historic day and I am proud that Italy is here“, Meloni said, highlighting the humanitarian work that Italy has done for the benefit of the population of Gaza, but also the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in that territory.
“It is clear that if the plan is implemented, Italy's recognition of Palestine will be closer“, she added, referring to the implementation of the Gaza plan.
The Italian Prime Minister said that when the conditions set by the Italian parliament for recognizing the State of Palestine are met, this will lead to such recognition. The conditions were the return of all hostages, living and dead, and the prevention of “Hamas“ to power in a possible future Palestinian state.
Meloni also pointed out that the Italian Carabinieri have been training Palestinian police for years and that Italy is also participating in an EU mission in Rafah.
Meloni expressed Italy's readiness to participate in a future stabilization force in Gaza and said that this would require approval from the Italian parliament. Earlier, the Italian foreign and defense ministers had also expressed similar readiness. They also said that Italy could help rebuild Gaza.
The Italian Prime Minister recalled that the stabilization forces will monitor the ceasefire in Gaza and that is why a UN resolution is needed. “When such a resolution is approved and Italy is asked to participate in such a mission, I will ask the parliament if it agrees“, said Meloni.
On the sidelines of the forum in Egypt, the Italian Prime Minister also held a number of bilateral meetings. One of them was with US President Donald Trump.
Trump used the meeting to joke. He shook Meloni's hand upon her arrival at the forum, jokingly asking the question “But who is this woman? And then respectfully called her an "incredible and very respected leader," ANSA reported.
Before this compliment about Meloni's managerial qualities, however, Trump praised her appearance, ANSA and Agence France-Presse noted. "She's very beautiful. But if a person says something like that, it would end his political career. But I take that risk because I'm saying something that's true. She really is beautiful," Trump said of Meloni. After that, he still asked Meloni if the fact that he said out loud that she was beautiful didn't pose a problem for her, Agence France-Presse added. Meloni limited himself to giving him a smile.
Regarding Trump's comments, Agence France-Presse recalls that the American president is known for making sexist remarks, which are sometimes quite harsh, but this has not harmed his career.
Today, in a post by Trump on his social network “Tweet social“ he called Meloni a source of inspiration for everyone, Agence France-Presse added.
“Giorgia Meloni, the GREAT Prime Minister of Italy, has written a new book. Giorgia is doing an incredible job for the great people of Italy. She is a source of inspiration for everyone“, Trump said in his post.
The announcement was also accompanied by a photo of the cover of Meloni's autobiographical book, which has been translated into English. “Buy this book now“, Trump said in his post.