Dubai-Italy business, diplomatic ties hailed

Italian expats gather to celebrate National Day.

Bernd Debusmann Jr.

Published: Sat 6 Jun 2015, 12:50 AM

Last updated: Wed 8 Jul 2015, 3:09 PM

Dubai — Italy’s National Day, also known as Republic Day in Italy, is traditionally held on June 2 to commemorate the post-Second World War institutional referendum in which Italians voted to establish a republic and end the country’s monarchy.

Among the many diplomats and officials at Wednesday’s event were UAE Minister of the Economy Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, and Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy Mohammed Al Shihhi.

Giovanni Favilli, Italy’s Consul General in Dubai, said the event was also a celebration of the increasingly close business and diplomatic ties between Italy and the UAE. “Recent years have seen a great increase in bilateral trade, investment and visits,” he said. “In 2014 Italy’s exports to the UAE were the same as to much bigger countries like Japan or Brazil, and even bigger than our exports to India or Saudi Arabia.”

Favilli noted that bilateral trade has reached six billion Euros and that investment in both directions has been growing, as shown by Etihad’s purchase of 49 per cent of Alitalia, Italy’s national airline, last year. Additionally, he noted that with the addition of an Emirates flight to Bologna in November, there will now be 12 daily flights between Italy and the UAE.

“The agreement signed between Expo Milan 2015 and Expo Dubai 2020 is also a symbol of the close partnership between the two countries,” Favilli added. “Italy supported Dubai as a candidate, and the United Arab Emirates built one of the most admired pavilions in Milan.” Favilli also remarked that the Italian government sees the UAE as key partner in the Middle East. “We hold regular consultations on foreign policy matters and on the situations in Egypt, Libya, Iraq and Syria,” he said.

“The UAE is now known and recognised in Italy as a model of moderation and tolerance in the Arab World.”

According to embassy statistics, about 10,000 Italians live in the UAE and over 500 Italian companies operate here. Approximately 150,000 tourists from Italy visit every year. In an effort to bolster Emirati tourism to Italy, by the end of 2015 the Italian government plans to open a new office — called “Burj Italia” — as a visa application centre.

The event also marked the last evening of Ambassador Giorgio Starace’s five-year tenure as Italy’s chief representative in the UAE. — bernd@khaleejtimes.com

In his remarks, Starace thanked the government of the UAE for working with him to establish closer ties during his time in the country.

“We are close friends, and in these five years we have built a strategic partnership with the UAE,” he said. “But it has also been the overall work of the Italian and Emirati entrepreneurs together growing in this metropolis of the future. Without you nothing can be achieved.”

“And big thanks to the UAE, because during years of deep recession of the Italian economy, our medium and small enterprises were prospering in this market,” he added.