President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. met today with Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy to affirm the strength of the U.S.-Italy bilateral relationship and thank the Prime Minister for his personal leadership of the G20 during a year of overlapping global challenges. Both leaders recognized the historic achievement of a global minimum tax, building resilience against future pandemics, and the commitment to rapidly decarbonize how we produce electricity. President Biden thanked Prime Minister Draghi for all Italy has done to support the people of Afghanistan, including by convening an extraordinary G20 session to address counter-terrorism efforts and humanitarian aid, and by temporarily housing over 4,000 Afghans en route to the United States last August.  The leaders discussed challenges to security in the Mediterranean Sea region and reaffirmed the importance of NATO’s efforts to deter and defend against threats from every strategic direction. The leaders also reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to the bilateral relationship and to the Transatlantic bond, including through NATO. They emphasized the importance of the U.S.-EU partnership, including ongoing work to ensure the rules governing the 21st century economy are based in shared democratic values.