ROME (AP): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday observed the formal exchange of a dozen cooperation agreements, including on defence, as part of efforts to strengthen ties between the two Mediterranean nations.

Erdogan was in Rome to attend a fourth so-called Intergovernmental Summit between Italy and Turkiye that aims to boost trade and cooperation.

His visit comes at a time when Turkiye and Italy have expanded defence partnerships. In March, Turkiye's leading drone manufacturer, Baykar, reached a memorandum of understanding for a joint venture with Italy's Leonardo for production of unmanned aerial vehicles. Last year, Baykar bought Italian aircraft producer Piaggio Aerospace.

Speaking after their meeting, Meloni and Erdogan said that Turkiye and Italy have successfully reached their USD 30 billion trade volume target and have now set a new goal of USD 40 billion, signalling further economic collaboration.

“We will continue to strengthen our cooperation with Italy, which has made significant progress in the field of defence industry, with new partnerships and projects,” Erdogan said.

Italy sees Turkiye as a key partner in managing migration numbers and maintaining stability in the region.

On Tuesday, Meloni thanked Erdogan, saying joint measures by Turkiye and Italy had resulted in the number of migrants originating from Turkiye dropping to “zero.”

Erdogan said: “We will continue our cooperation with Italy in the field of combating irregular migration in the coming period.”

The Turkish leader also said that the sides had discussed possible cooperation toward Syria's redevelopment and would hold more consultations on the issue.