Minister for Foreign Affairs Terzi met today at the foreign ministry in Rome with Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Abdallah bin Zayed Al Nayan.
The meeting’s agenda included recent events in the Middle East and Mediterranean, and it followed Minister Terzi’s participation in the Foreign Affairs Council yesterday in Brussels and his recent tour of the North African capitals of Tunis, Cairo and Tripoli.
The two ministers found convergence on international political themes, but also on the excellent status of economic and cultural relations between Italy and the United Arab Emirates. Minister Sheikh Abdallah bin Zayed Al Nayan assured Minister Terzi of his government’s intention to further intensify investments in Italy, not least in consideration of the exceptional trend in commercial trade. Indeed, Italian exports to the EAU rose in 2011 by 26% to over €4 billion, making that country Italy’s top economic partner in the Gulf.
Reiterating the importance of cultural and language exchanges, the two ministers concurred that the UAE opening in the near future of the first Italian school in the Gulf region represents an excellent opportunity for both nations. “Cultural and language promotion”, Minister Terzi asserted, “is a fundamental aspect of our foreign policy, and this new school will surely have positive fall-out also on our countries’ economic and trade relations”.
Finally, the two ministers confirmed their mutual commitment to stamping out piracy, a phenomenon that seriously jeopardizes the security of shipping routes and commercial traffic in the Gulf.
