ROMA (ITALPRESS) – Enhancing bilateral cooperation on digital innovation, cybersecurity, submarine cable infrastructure, satellite connectivity and technological resilience in Europe. With these objectives the meeting was held at Mimit between the Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, and the Minister of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence of the Hellenic Republic, Dimitris Papastergiou, within the framework of the high-level initiative ‘Greece-Italy Bilateral Dialogue’ organized by the Embassy of Greece in Rome, to which they have taken part high representatives of the institutions.
The initiative comes at a particularly important geopolitical moment, highlighting the growing importance of closer coordination between Greece and Italy, two European Mediterranean countries facing common strategic, technological and security challenges.
The Ministers stressed the crucial role of submarine telecommunication infrastructures in supporting European connectivity, economic security and digital sovereignty, observing that submarine cables carry around 97% of global internet traffic. They also highlighted that the Mediterranean basin is a fundamental crossroads for international maritime and digital connectivity. In light of the growing hybrid threats and the need to strengthen the resilience of critical infrastructure, the Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to stepping up cooperation for the protection, monitoring and development of underwater and digital infrastructure. They also agreed to strengthen and ensure greater interoperability of technological systems. In this context, Greece and Italy have expressed their intention to promote a coordinated framework for monitoring and mitigating the risks of underwater infrastructure. This initiative aims to support the protection, industrial development and operational resilience of underwater infrastructure in the Mediterranean, within a framework of European cooperation.
The Ministers also highlighted the importance of strengthening cooperation in satellite Earth observation systems, satellite connectivity infrastructure and space technology development, including the future European sovereign constellation IRIS2, in order to improve continuity, security and strategic autonomy of digital services and data-based applications.
Both sides stressed the importance of closer collaboration between national authorities, research institutes and space agencies, as well as alignment with the next European initiatives such as the EU Space Act, with the aim of developing secure, resilient and autonomous European digital and spatial capabilities.
Finally, Italy and Greece agreed to explore and enhance bilateral cooperation opportunities within the future European AI Gigafactories initiative, with the aim of consolidating European sovereign capabilities in the field, with particular focus on computing infrastructure, data ecosystems and advanced IA applications.
– Mimit press office photos –
(ITALPRESS).
