President Obama spoke by phone today with Prime Minister Letta of Italy to congratulate him on his new office and to reaffirm the deep and enduring bonds that the United States and Italy share. The President expressed support for Prime Minister Letta’s focus on reducing youth unemployment and looked forward to further discussions about promoting economic growth at the June G-8 Summit in Lough Erne. The two leaders also discussed, as allies and as friends, mutual cooperation on North African security and addressing the conflict in Syria, and they affirmed their mutual support for moving forward with the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.