Open economies have though history gone hand in hand with peace, while tariff barriers create an "unliveable" world of closed economies in opposition to each other," Italy's president Sergio Mattarella stated on Friday
"A world made of closed economies, in opposition to each other, is an unlivable one. Instead, a world made up of open economies is one that in history has always accompanied peace," Mattarella told Japanese broadcaster Nhk.
In an address in Tokyo on Wednesday during a visit to Japan this week, Mattarella praised bilateral ties between the two G7 democracies and how they have moved to integrate their markets in recent years.
"This is thanks to the economic partnership agreement signed in 2019 between Tokyo and Brussels, which eliminated duties on European exports to Japan and vice versa: an agreement that is a far cry from the protectionism that is currently returning," Mattarella underlined.
