(Adnkronos) – Saudi Arabia “is a priority economic and trade partner for Italy,” foreign under-secretary Maria Tripodi said on Tuesday after premier Giorgia Meloni inked a landmark accord for a bilateral strategic partnership with the Kingdom’s de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“This is demonstrated by the success of the official visit of prime minister Giorgia Meloni to Alula (in northwest Saudi Arabia) just two days ago, Tripodi told an Italo-Arab business forum in Rome, cited by a foreign ministry statement.
“At the end of the visit, a historic declaration was signed with Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, that elevated our relationship to a strategic partnership,” said Tripodi.
The strategic partnership accord is the culmination of foreign minister Antonio Tajani’s central strategy of growth diplomacy and the internationalisation of quality Italian goods, Tripodi underlined.
Economic relations between Italy and Saudi Arabia are “extremely promising”, the statement said.
Bilateral trade is constantly increasing and in 2023 topped 10 billion euros in value terms. Saudi Arabia is a GATE country (Growing, Ambitious, Transforming, Emerging) for Italian businesses, according to Italy’s export credit agency Sace, the statement noted.
Riyadh’s ‘Saudi Vision 2030’ strategy has enabled Italy’s large oil and gas groups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) “in all the most innovative sectors to help strengthen this market to ensure that Italy becomes a privileged partner of the Saudi Kingdom to structure its industrial base and thus diversify its economy,” according to the statement.
“We want to create ever-growing levels of advantageous collaboration in strategic sectors of mutual interest, including energy and the defence industry,” said the statement.
Such cooperation can give “impetus to mutual investments also in third countries, especially within the framework of the Mattei Plan,” the statement said.
The statement referrred to a flagship multi-billion euro government blueprint unveiled last year to accelerate African economic development and turn Italy into an energy hub to transport natural gas supplies from Africa to the rest of Europe.
The Italian-Arab Business Forum is an event organised annually by the Italian-Arab Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the Arab League and the Unioncamere chambers of commerce association, under the auspices of the foreign ministry, the statement noted.
At the forum, business representatives, senior government officials and investment agencies “concretely explore” development opportunities for Italian companies in the wider Mediterranean region, the statement said.
