TRIESTE – Italy has taken part for the first time in the annual summit of the Three Seas Initiative as a strategic partner.
Its participation in the Dubrovnik meeting, held yesterday and today, marks an important new development in Italy’s projection towards central-eastern Europe, placing Trieste at the centre of the continental debate on the corridors of the future.
The 3SI platform now brings together 13 EU countries: alongside host country Croatia are Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary and, as of this summit, Italy as a strategic partner. A geographical arc stretching from the Adriatic to the Baltic and the Black Sea, created in 2015 and long remaining outside Rome’s trajectory, with Italy represented in Dubrovnik by Foreign Undersecretary Maria Tripodi. Alongside Germany, Japan, Spain, Turkey, the United States and the European Union among the external partners.
The project finances an estimated one trillion euros to connect, by land, rail and road, the Trieste-Constanța-Gdańsk triangle. An infrastructure designed to reconnect Europe along the east-west axis, reduce logistics dependencies and secure the corridors. The 3SI pursues, as a natural overland continuation, what IMEC represents for the Mediterranean: connecting India, the Middle East and Europe, reducing times and dependence on traditional routes. The Adriatic basin and the port of Trieste are becoming logistics pivots of a new European transport architecture.
Membership of the Initiative is part of the same logic as the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor, with Trieste as the southern gateway to the continent, a transit node for goods, but also for energy and data cables. In this regard, on the sidelines of the proceedings, US ambassador Nicole McGraw announced the signing of contracts on artificial intelligence and gas transport between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with US capital.
«At a time of major challenges for Europe and the world, Italy is aware of the crucial importance of the region between the Adriatic, the Baltic and the Black Sea, certain of the value that Rome will be able to bring to the Forum», said Undersecretary Tripodi. The Farnesina stressed that the event is particularly relevant for Italy, which was invited to take part in the summit after Minister Tajani announced the intention to join the Initiative as a strategic partner. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the new status will allow Italy to support the development of the east-west and north-south connection axes, consistently with Italy’s role within the Central European Initiative and the IMEC project.