TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) made an unannounced trip to Italy on Saturday (June 17).
Wu met with Italian Chamber of Deputies Foreign Affairs Committee Vice President Paolo Formentini and Italian lawmaker Igor Iezzi in Milan.
Formentini tweeted a photo of himself and Wu with the caption, “An honor today to meet the Foreign Minister of Taiwan.” Meanwhile, Iezzi shared news of Wu’s visit on Facebook, saying, “Always on the side of freedom. Today we met Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu in Milan.”
In an interview with Italian newspaper Le Formiche, Formentini said the meeting was very positive and Wu appreciated Italy's initiatives in the Indo-Pacific, including the 5-month deployment of the offshore patrol vessel Morosini in the region. The meeting was also a chance to “reaffirm that the status quo in the Taiwan Strait must remain as it is and that the freedom of navigation must always be defended,” he said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), who also chairs the Taiwan-Italy Inter-Parliamentary Amity Association, said that in the past, Italy had maintained friendly relations with China, Liberty Times reported. Thus, Wu’s visit is a significant diplomatic breakthrough for Taiwan, he said.
Wu’s stop in Italy comes as Italian Senate Vice President Gian Marco Centinaio is currently visiting Taiwan. Centinaio’s delegation is the highest-level visit by the Italian parliament since 1970, per Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Centinaio said Italy has maintained good commercial and diplomatic relations with Taiwan and expressed hope that Italy and its international partners will work together to maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait, per Liberty Times.
Wu is in the middle of a tour through Europe and has already visited the Czech Republic, Poland, and Belgium.
After taking office in October, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took a different approach to foreign policy. Italy has been more supportive of Taiwan, speaking up for the country on multiple occasions and even approving a new Taiwan representative office in Milan in April.