Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi traveled to Ankara in January 2007 at the invitation of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. During his stay in the capital, Prodi met with Erdogan, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, and Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc, and attended a dinner hosted in his honor.
The two leaders signed a political cooperation protocol aimed at strengthening ties between their countries. They also discussed a memorandum of understanding, concluded in Ankara on 18 January, designed to simplify visa procedures between Türkiye and Italy.
Prodi and Erdogan then traveled to the northern city of Bolu to open the Bolu Mountain Tunnel on the Edirne-Istanbul-Ankara expressway, a project built by Italian construction firm Astaldi.
The visit concluded in Istanbul, where both prime ministers chaired a round-table discussion on Turkish-Italian strategic economic relations, held at the Palace of Venice, the Italian ambassador's official residence. Prodi addressed reporters following that session.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in January 2007, in its own words.