(Adnkronos) – Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is expected on Sunday on an official visit to Saudi Arabia, which “is her first accompanied by government ministers and Italian company executives.” The Saudi broadcaster Al Arabiya writes, according to which Meloni will hold talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the historic city of Al Ula to “discuss cooperation opportunities” between Rome and Riyadh.
“The two countries – the broadcaster recalls – have enjoyed close relations dating back to 1932, when Italy was among the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and opened an Italian consulate in Jeddah. In 1933 a cooperation agreement was signed between the two countries “.
“Since then – continues the Saudi TV – political relations and dialogue between the leaderships of the two countries have continued with reciprocal visits to improve relations in various fields”, bringing “the volume of bilateral trade in 2023 to approximately 10.796 billion dollars” .
According to data from the International Trade Center, Saudi exports to Italy are estimated at 4.921 billion dollars, of which 737 million dollars are non-oil products, while it imports goods worth 5.875 billion dollars from Italy.
Among the countries in the region, the Saudi Kingdom is Italy’s second largest trading partner, which ranks among the top 20 countries investing in the country, with more than 150 companies having obtained a foreign investment license and the Saudi Industrial Property Authority (Modon) hosts 8 factories for Italian industry in collaboration with Saudi entrepreneurs.
