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Mideast and Iraq dominate Khalifa-Prodi talks

ABU DHABI — The President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, held talks with the visiting Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi yesterday afternoon at Al Mushrif Palace here.

General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, was present during the talks.

They discussed bilateral relations between the friendly nations and ways for bolstering them in various avenues. They also exchanged their views on the latest developments on the regional and international levels.

The peace process in the Middle East and the current situations in Iraq also featured the talks.

Shaikh Khalifa reiterated UAE’s keenness on strengthening its relations with Italy in the fields of economy, trade and investment which will widen opportunities of investment and joint development projects, benefiting both countries.

Shaikh Khalifa expressed his hope that the visit of Italian prime minister to UAE will create new opportunities for enhancing the standing relations between the UAE and Italy, and will open wider horizons for fruitful cooperation on all fronts, realising a qualitative shift in the joint cooperation as well as activating economic partnership between the two countries.

On his side, the Italian premier expressed his happiness over the opportunity to visit UAE and meet the President. He said that the visit comes in line with his country’s keenness to see the capabilities and fast paced achievements of UAE in all fields under the prudent leadership of Shaikh Khalifa.

Romano Prodi pointed out that there is great harmony in the economic, political, trade and investment relations between UAE and Italy and it has given an impetus to the Italian investments in the UAE. This has also seen Italian businessmen turning to UAE in quest for partnership with their counterparts, Prodi added.

The Italian premier expressed his hope that his visit to UAE will be a successful one which will bring about the desired results. Prodi added that he is so impressed with the unprecedented economic revival UAE is witnessing.

The meeting was also attended by Speaker of Federal National Council (FNC) Abdul Aziz Abdullah Al Ghurair, Ruler’s Representative to the Eastern Region Shaikh Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Minister of Interior Lt-Gen. Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Presidential Affairs Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and a number of other Shaikhs, ministers and senior officials.

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