President Sheikh Mohamed to begin state visit to Italy on Monday

President Sheikh Mohamed will begin a state visit to Italy on Monday, during which he will hold high-level talks with the country's leadership to advance bilateral ties.

The UAE leader will meet Italy's President Sergio Matarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during the trip, state news agency Wam reported.

Discussions, taking place under a strategic partnership in place between the nations, will focus on furthering co-operation in the economy, investment, renewable energy, advanced technology, artificial intelligence, and cultural exchange.

UAE-Italy links were buoyed in March 2023 by a visit from Ms Meloni, in which she held key talks with Sheikh Mohamed.

They discussed ways to build a strategic partnership between their countries, especially in the economic, investment and trade sectors.

They also talked about renewable energy, clean technologies and sustainable development, and how to address important issues such as climate change and food security.

Last month, the UAE, Italy and Albania announced plans to team up to build a subsea interconnector for exporting renewable energy across the Adriatic.

As part of the deal, green power produced in Albania will be exported to Italy through an undersea cable, Ms Meloni said at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi .

The total value of the deal is €1 billion ($1 billion) and the project is expected to be operational within three years, according to a report by Italy's Ansa news agency.

Growing partnership

Lorenzo Fanara, Italy's ambassador to the UAE, told The National last year that the two countries had made significant strides in bolstering relations in recent years.

Bilateral trade reached €8.7 billion ($9.4 billion) in 2023 – up 8.6 per cent on 2022, with €6.6 billion in Italian exports, statistics from the embassy show. In the first two months of 2024 alone, trade surged by as much as 34.7 per cent on the previous year.

Around 20,000 Italians call the UAE home – up from about 7,000 10 years ago – with business opportunities driving the increase. The Italian presence ranges from major energy companies such as Eni to sectors from hospitality to construction.

More than 600 Italian companies operate in the Emirates with exports including industrial machines and jewels. A joint venture to build military ships was agreed between UAE defence conglomerate Edge and Italy’s Fincantieri last year.

Italian aerospace and defence sector giant Leonardo announced a "strategic agreement" with Edge this week, coinciding with their participation in the Idex defence expo in Abu Dhabi.