ROME
Italy has said it will exert efforts to revive Turkey's EU membership negotiation process when it takes over the EU's term presidency in July.
Italy's Foreign Minister Emma Bonino said that it is important to maintain relations between the two countries.
Speaking at the Turkey-Italy Business Forum on Thursday, Bonino said that Turkey's negotiations with the EU have been stagnant for too long.
Turkey welcomes around 700,000 Italian tourists every year, while 30,000 Turkish people currently live in Italy, and more than 2,000 students.
Turkey and Italy work together at various organizations including NATO, Council of Europe and the G20.
Also speaking at the the business forum meeting, Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister for economy Ali Babacan said that the smooth functioning of establishments, such as the Turkish-Italian Business Forum and Turkish-Italian Media Forum contributes to the countries' bilateral relations.
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