Basic Indicators:

Capital   : Rome
Population   : 60.418.711 (2010)  
Population growth rate: - 0,05 % (2010)
Area    : 301.338 km2
Currency   : Euro (€)  
GDP: 1,520 billion Euro (2009)  
Growth rate  : -4,8 % (2009)  
GNP- per capita  : 24.470 Euro (2009)  
Inflation   : 0.8 %

Head of State : Giorgio Napolitano (10 May 2006)
Prime Minister : Silvio Berlusconi
Vice Prime Minister: Gianni Letta
Minister of Foreign Affairs: Franco Frattini

Government:

After the general elections on April 2008, a Coalition Government was formed.

Historical Background:

The rising Ottoman Empire enjoyed close relations with the republics in the Italian peninsula like the Cenoviz and Venecians which played a dominant role in the Mediterranean. The relations of the Ottoman Empire with the Venecians date back to 1381. The "Friendship, Neutrality and Arbitration Agreement" signed after the World War I in 1928 is the first known agreement between Turkey and Italy. In the aftermath of the Second World War, both countries stood side by side in Western institutions. As from 2000, mutual efforts have been spent to overcome potential problems and to revitalize bilateral relations by high-level visits.

Political Relations

Turkey and Italy, as two Mediterranean countries and allies enjoy friendly relations. Turkey’s economic and commercial exchanges with Italy are improving in terms of both their nature and volume. Turkey and Italy celebrated the 150th anniversary of the initiation of diplomatic relations in 2006.

Recently, there have been an increasing number of high-level visits between Turkey and Italy. During the visit of Italian former Prime Minister Romano Prodi, a Strategy Paper aimed at further strengthening our bilateral relations and giving a high visibility to our close cooperation, was signed by the two Prime Ministers.

Intergovernmental Summit, Turkish-Italian Civil Society Dialog Forum and Media Forum are the three pillars of the Turkish-Italian relations.

Recent High Level Visits

- H.E. Mr. Giorgio Napolitano, President of Italy, paid an official visit to Turkey on 17-18 November 2009.

- Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Erdoğan visited Rome on 16-18 November 2009 to attend 36th Conference of the World Food Security and FAO.

- Minister of State and Chief Negotiator H.E. Mr. Egemen Bağış paid an official visit to Italy on 31 May-1 June 2010.

- H.E. Mr. Alfredo Mantica, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy, visited Turkey on 18-19 July 2010.

- Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, paid an official visit to Italy on 8-9 November 2010. During his visit, Minister Davutoğlu also attended to the 7th Meeting of Turkish-Italian Forum.