LONDON: Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, heading an official delegation to Italy, met his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani in Rome.
Sheikh Salem conveyed the greetings and best wishes of his government to Italy, and the pair discussed the close ties shared by their countries and ways to enhance them.
Also on the table was a proposal to exempt Kuwaiti travelers from the need to acquire Schengen Area visas. Tajani said Italy supports the move and will continue to pursue it in the European Parliament.
They also discussed security and international affairs, including the situations in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine, and the repercussions each continues to have on the rest of the world.
The need for peaceful resolutions in these areas was addressed, as was the danger posed by climate change, and an agreement to share important relevant information on security issues.
A number of memorandums of understanding were signed, including on holding strategic dialogue and adopting the executive program for cultural cooperation from 2023 to 2025.
An MoU was also signed between the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.
Sheikh Salem later met with Lorenzo Fontana, the speaker of Italy’s parliament, to whom he conveyed the greetings of his country’s political leadership to the Italian people.
They discussed ways to cement ties at a parliamentary level, and Fontana praised Kuwait’s desire to boost commercial relations and tourism.
Sheikh Salem again raised the issue of the Schengen Area visa, and discussed the need to reduce taxes on Kuwaiti oil investments in Italy. Fontana assured him that progress on both issues is of vital importance to Italian MPs.
There was also a meeting between the Kuwaiti delegation and members of the Italian parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, including its Chairman Giulio Tremonti.
The meeting included talks on improving economic, cultural, educational, security, political, diplomatic and parliamentary cooperation, as well as working together to combat terrorism and extremism.
The committee’s members expressed their happiness with Kuwait’s efforts regionally and internationally to promote humanitarianism and diplomacy.
Sheikh Salem also met with the head of the Italian-Kuwaiti Friendship Parliamentary Committee, Sen. Matteo Jamiti.
