A comprehensive mission to Riyadh by Lombardy Region President Attilio Fontana, who visited the Saudi capital on 17-18 September accompanied by a delegation of high-level stakeholders from Lombardy's institutional, business, and academic world, has come to an end. President Fontana was welcomed in Riyadh by the new Italian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Carlo Baldocci.
"President Fontana's mission to Saudi Arabia, the first by a Regional President in recent times, was strongly desired by the Embassy and testifies to the vitality of relations between Italy and Saudi Arabia in all fields," said Ambassador Baldocci. "The numerous meetings that the delegation had with the Saudi leadership at the highest level made it possible to illustrate Lombardy's excellence and lay the foundations for further deepening existing partnerships on a basis of mutual benefit and complementarity, a model," added the ambassador, "that is absolutely winning for relations with this country and inspires the entire national approach."
During the mission, President Fontana met, among others, the Saudi Minister of Investment Al-Falih, a few days after a first meeting between the two on the sidelines of the last Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio, the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Alkhorayef, the Minister of Education Al-Benyan and the Minister of Sport Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal.
During the visit, President Fontana was also able to visit INDEX Saudi, the most important Saudi Arabian trade fair in the design sector, where some 90 companies from Italy, the second largest country in terms of number of exhibitors, exhibited, of which about one third from Lombardy. Mr. Fontana then visited the construction site of the Urubah Park in Riyadh, a 75-hectare area in the heart of the city, destined to become an urban oasis, whose works are being entrusted to the Lombard company 'Land Mena'.
The Lombardy Region delegation also took part in a workshop organised by the Italian Ambassador to Riyadh Carlo Baldocci, open to all stakeholders and focusing on the potential of the Italian-Saudi partnership in fields of strategic interest, and in a concert organised by the Italian Embassy in Riyadh at the Saudi Music Hub, where the young Italian pianist Monica Zhang performed in collaboration with the Fondazione La Società dei Concerti in Milan.
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