Rishi Sunak says Italy and the UK are aligned as he welcomes Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to Downing Road for talks. Each governments have adopted robust stances on migration in current weeks.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared that Britain and Italy are “very aligned” in values as he welcomed far-right Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Thursday for talks centered on migration, defence and the battle in Ukraine.
Whereas Sunak meets leaders of all political stripes from world wide, he had notably heat phrases as he greeted Meloni at 10 Downing St., the British chief’s official residence.
The Conservative prime minister praised Meloni’s “very cautious dealing with of the Italian financial system.”
“I believe the values between our two international locations are very aligned, which is why we are able to work so effectively collectively on shared challenges, whether or not it is responding to Putin’s unlawful invasion in Ukraine, the place once more I pay tribute to your management, but additionally tackling unlawful migration, which is one thing that’s frequent to each of us,” Sunak stated.
The 2 governments share an curiosity in stopping migrants from reaching their international locations by boat.
Sunak’s administration is passing a invoice by Parliament that may deny the correct to asylum to anybody who arrives within the UK with out permission. The laws has been condemned by refugee teams and the United Nations human rights physique.
The federal government additionally plans to ship migrants who arrive by boat on a one-way journey to Rwanda, an equally controversial plan that’s being blocked by authorized challenges.
Meloni, whose far-right Brothers of Italy social gathering leads Italy’s right-wing coalition authorities, has led a crackdown on folks smugglers and on rescue ships operated by charities that she says encourage migrants to threat harmful voyages from North Africa throughout the Mediterranean.
Meloni informed Sunak that “tackling traffickers and unlawful migration is one thing that your authorities is doing very effectively. I am following your work and I completely agree together with your work and I believe there are lots of issues that we are able to do collectively.”
Meloni stated, “There’s rather more that we are able to do on many matters on which we’re on the identical facet – defence, Ukraine.”
In contrast to some far-right populists within the West, Meloni has taken a strongly pro-NATO, pro-European place on Russia’s battle in Ukraine.
After their assembly, the 2 leaders have been as a result of have a non-public tour of Westminster Abbey, the place King Charles III shall be topped on Might 6.
A bunch of protesters gathered exterior the gates of Downing Road because the leaders met, holding indicators that learn “No to fascist Meloni” and chanting: “Refugees in, Meloni out.”
