The Gulf states are key partners of
Italy on a number of issues including migration and the knock-on
effects of the war of aggression in Ukraine, Foreign Minister
and Deputy Premier Antonio Tajani said on Sunday.
"The Gulf countries are key players for more than one political
reason: they are decisive players in Africa, in the
Mediterranean and in the Middle East, for the stabilisation of
crisis areas and to strengthen joint action both to prevent
migration and to concretely fight against the trafficking of
migrants," said Tajani during a mission to the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) to meet his counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed
Al Nahyan.
The agenda for the meeting includes consolidation of bilateral
relations, economic cooperation and business opportunities, but
also migration and regional dossiers, especially Tunisia and
Libya.
Following the formalisation by Premier Giorgia Meloni of a
"strategic relationship", with the UAE during a visit in March,
"now we are returning precisely to open a new chapter of
cooperation", added the foreign minister.
The government, said Tajani, is "working on a strategic foreign
policy" that is "paying increasing attention to the 'Global
South': we need (these countries) certainly for migration first
of all, but also politically - see Ukraine - for the energy
dimension, in support of the interests of Italy and the whole of
Europe".
The Emirates "invest in Africa even more than China. But above
all, they have a very strong understanding of Africa from a
social, cultural and religious point of view", he continued.
The Gulf states are at the same time "increasingly integrated
with us Europeans", said Tajani.
"We have a capacity for understanding, for joint action that we
want to transform into political action," he continued,
stressing the importance for the biggest Western economies to
remain connected to the rest of the world.
"The experience of the aggression against Ukraine has made us
realise that we risk not getting our message across if we do not
share our assessments and decisions with other partners on a
day-to-day basis," Tajani said.
"And in this phase of building a new vision, our relationship
with the Emirates and the Gulf states is crucial," he concluded.
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