The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Luigi Di Maio, had a meeting with his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Abdallah Bin Zayed Al Nayan, on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The main issues on the agenda were the two countries’ fruitful economic relations as well as regional matters of common interest such as Libya and stability in the Persian Gulf.
“The UAE market offers excellent business opportunities to Italian companies as shown last April during my visit in the UAE when I was leading a delegation of 140 Italian companies,” said Minister Di Maio. “250 Italian companies are currently operating in the UAE in a wide variety of fields with energy and construction playing a leading role. New opportunities are developing in other fields such as renewable energies and the health sector. We should encourage such a diversification. Moreover the MOU for ‘Startups and Innovation Cooperation’, which was signed in April last, paves the way to new cooperation opportunities between small- and medium-sized enterprises.”
Expo 2020 Dubai represents yet another opportunity to advance in the consolidation of the partnership between Italy and the UAE. Italy, whose theme statement will be “Beauty Connects People”, will participate in the Universal Expo (October 2020 – April 2021) to present Italy’s cultural and creative identity in continuity with the Milan Expo.
