The inking of a friendship pact between Italy and France - just as German Chancellor Angel Merkel's exit leaves a vacuum in European politics - will strengthen the entire European Union, foreign minister Luigi Di Maio stated on Friday.
"The signing of the Quirinale Treaty between Italy and France for strengthened cooperation is another step we are taking together along a shared path - a European path that looks to the future with foresight," Di Maio wrote on Facebook.
"It gives the friendship and ties between our two countries even more structure and strengthens the whole EU."
The treaty was signed by Italy's premier Mario Draghi and France's president Emmanuel Macron and is loosely modelled on a 1963 pact between France and Germany.
The treaty bolsters bilateral cooperation in a wide range of areas including economic and industrial matters, diplomacy and defence, space, culture, education and climate change, aided by quarterly attendance by ministers from one country at the other's cabinet meetings.
