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By Angelo Amante and Crispian Balmer
ROME (Reuters) - Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has said Britain is not fully sharing technologies with Italy and Japan in a major project to develop a new fighter jet and urged London to bring down the "barriers of selfishness".
In an interview with Reuters, Crosetto emphasised the importance of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), which aims to develop by 2035 an aircraft that incorporates the most advanced technologies.
The defence minister, a senior member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's rightist Brothers of Italy party, said sharing technology when making investments together was crucial to a "serious relationship".
"There is no longer anyone who can be considered first and second class and who wants to defend old legacies," he said.
"You have to break down some barriers of selfishness. Italy has broken them down totally, Japan almost totally. It seems to me that the UK is much more reluctant to do this, and that's a mistake because selfishness is the worst enemy of nations."
He did not give any specifics about what technologies the British might be holding back.
Britain's Ministry of Defence (MoD), asked about Crosetto's comments, said GCAP was a "leading example of the strength of joint programmes".
"The technologies we are developing and the capabilities we are building together are at the cutting edge of science and engineering," an MoD spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
"Collectively we will take to the skies one of the world's most advanced fighter jets."
Rome is in favour of Saudi Arabia joining the programme, which Crosetto called an example of how defence cooperation can be extended to countries outside Europe.
"The choice of Japan was key in this respect, so would be Saudi Arabia, which has a need for technological growth and has more resources available than our three countries," he said.
Britain, Italy and Japan announced last year they would set up a joint company to develop the jet, a step forward in their initial 2022 agreement. Britain's BAE Systems, Italy's Leonardo, Japan's Aircraft Industrial Enhancement (JAIEC) will each hold a 33.3% share.
(Reporting by Angelo Amante and Crispian Balmer; Additional reporting by Paul Sandle in London; Editing by Frances Kerry)
