PM meeting with Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni and Prime Minister of Japan Shigeru Ishiba: 19 November 2024

The Prime Minister met the Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni and the Prime Minister of Japan Shigeru Ishiba at the G20 Summit in Brazil today.

The three leaders reiterated their unwavering commitment to the Global Combat Air Partnership, which will see the next generation of fighter jets take to the sky by 2035 - shoring up our collective defences against those who seek to do us harm.

They agreed on the indivisibility of Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security in an increasingly contested and volatile world.

The Prime Minister set out the importance of international collaboration in order to advance our own interests and protect our national security.

They looked ahead to the establishment of the new Programme HQ, which is due to be based in the UK, creating hundreds of jobs and driving economic growth as a result.

They then welcomed the continued progress towards ratifying the landmark treaty which will underpin the operation of GCAP - which the UK, Japanese and Italian parliaments have now all voted in favour of.

They looked forward to the continued progress of the programme and discussed their ambition to widen participation to a broader range of international partners in future.