AFP / Chandan Khanna Italy is in advanced talks with Elon Musk's SpaceX over a 1.5 billion euro (NZ$2.75b) deal for the company to provide secure telecommunications to the government, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday. Discussions are ongoing and a final agreement on the five-year contract has not been reached, but the project has already been approved by Italy's Intelligence Services and Defence Ministry, the report said, citing unnamed sources. SpaceX and Italy's Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment outside regular business hours. The report said the deal involves SpaceX supplying Italy with a full range of encryption for telephone and internet services used by the government. It also includes communications services for Italy's military in the Mediterranean area and the rollout of satellite services in Italy for use in emergencies such as terrorist attacks or natural disasters, it said. Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and US President-elect Donald Trump alongside Senator Marco Rubio, right, and US incoming national security advisor Mike Waltz, left, at Trump's Mar-A-Lago Club on January 4, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. Photo: