This morning Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, Vincenzo Amendola, accompanied by Italian Ambassador to Oman, Giorgio Visetti, met with the Secretary General of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Al Busaidi. Mr Amendola then participated in the opening of the meeting of the Mixed Commission, which was attended by the Undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry, Mohammed bin Yousef bin Qasim Al –Zarafi. During the day, Undersecretary Amendola also met with the chairman of the Consultative Assembly (Majlis Al Shura), Sheikh Khalid bin Hilal Al Mawali, and with the Deputy Minister of Oil and Gas, Salim Al Aufi.
Speaking with his institutional interlocutors, Undersecretary Amendola highlighted the excellent bilateral relations between the two Countries and discussed ongoing regional crises – especially in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Iran – in which Oman has stood out for its stand condemning terrorism and violent extremism and in support of seeking political solutions.
Accompanied by the Foreign Ministry’s Director General for Economic and Cultural Promotion and Innovation, Vincenzo De Luca, Mr Amendola then went to the Italy-Oman Business Forum, which was also attended by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Ahmed bin Hassan Al Dheeb, representatives of the Omani Chamber of Commerce and of ICE and SACE, the Italian agencies designated for the promotion and internationalisation of Italian companies. The Business Forum was attended by around 40 Italian companies and roughly 60 Omani companies.
After the one held last March, this edition of the Business Forum, which was scheduled today concomitantly to the meeting of the Mixed Commission – affirmed Undersecretary Amendola – offers an opportunity to strengthen the ties between Italian and Omani companies in the field of energy, infrastructure and also within the “Vision 2020” programme. Italian export credit agency SACE also held several important meetings on providing financial support for the growing trend in trade. In 2016, Italy’s exports matched Germany’s, thus placing the two countries as Oman’s number one European partners.
As part of the actions aimed at promoting Italian culture in the world, Mr Amendola attended an opera by Giacchino Rossini at the Muscat Royal Opera House yesterday.
Undersecretary Amendola’s mission in Oman ended with his participation in the opening of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, which was held at the residence of the Italian Ambassador at the presence of the chefs of Muscat’s best restaurants and hotels.