By Giovanni Legorano
ROME (AA) – A four-day political festival organized by the right-wing party of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, featuring prominent guests such as billionaire Elon Musk and British premier Rishi Sunak, began on Thursday in Rome.
The Atreju festival, which has been running since 1998 and is named after the central character in the fantasy book and film, The Never~Ending Story, will host a series of debates on themes ranging from the environment to organized crime, Europe, immigration and several others.
Musk will give a speech on Saturday, followed by Sunak.
The organizers of the meeting from the Brother of Italy party initially said there was a “mysterious guest,” who was later confirmed as Musk.
The billionaire travelled in June to meet Meloni. He said after the meeting at the time that he had discussed with her possible remedies to Italy's demographic crisis and risks posed by artificial intelligence.
Meloni and Sunak have a close political relationship, which has been developing over the past year, with both leaders seeking new responses to an influx of migrants.
Meloni last month struck a deal to send some seaborne migrants to Albania, while Sunak is trying to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.
The deal with Albania is currently on hold for parliamentary approval, after the Albanian high court endorsed an opposition request to review the legality of the agreement.
Other notable international speakers include Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who signed the migrant pact with Meloni, and Santiago Abascal, the leader of the far-right party Vox and a long-time friend of the Italian premier.
The gathering, which is taking place at the iconic Castel Sant’Angelo, near the Vatican, will conclude on midday Sunday, with Meloni’s remarks.