Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the economic crunch, the crisis in Gaza and the gas dispute during a telephone call on Friday, the premier's office said in a statement.
The call was part of Berlusconi's ongoing contacts with G8 leaders since Italy took over the rotating presidency of the Group of Eight most industrialised countries on January 1.
Menkel briefed Berlusconi on a 50-million euro anti-crisis package which her government plans to unveil next week in a bid to revive Europe's biggest economy.
The two decided to keep in touch regularly ahead of meetings of the G20 and NATO in April and the G8 summit in Italy in July, the statement said.
Merkel and Berlusconi met in November for a bilateral summit which included a series of ministers from both countries.
Italian Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti said the two countries shared views on the steps needed to deal with the current credit crunch.
