JEDDAH: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, on a two-day visit to Jeddah, described Saudi Arabia as an important force for stability in the region. Europe, he said, appreciated the Kingdom’s political and economic role in the region.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah held talks on Saturday night with Premier Berlusconi on major regional and international issues. Berlusconi, who arrived here on Friday along with a contingent of media persons from some 20 Italian organizations, met with Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior Prince Naif and Minister of Finance Ibrahim Al-Assaf during the day. He also had a meeting with members of Jeddah’s Italian community at the city’s Italian Cultural Center.
At a press conference in the afternoon, the Italian premier said he had wide-ranging talks with the two ministers. The fluctuating oil prices as well as regional issues especially Somalia, Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan figured at the talks. He said the two sides shared concerns about the Iranian situation and discussed the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.
As members of the G20, both Italy and the Kingdom are against instability in commodity prices — oil and also food. Both are against speculation in oil prices. $75 per barrel is a price that we can consider.
Berlusconi said a trade mission comprising Italian businessmen from both small and medium enterprises would visit the Kingdom in due course. “We also have our oil ... it’s called entrepreneurs,” said Berlusconi. The Italian premier is due to proceed to Doha on Sunday.
A spokesman for the Italian Embassy said the Kingdom is an important strategic partner of Italy. Both are striving to find solutions to the crises in the Middle East and are confronting challenges facing the world community in this politically and economically intricate juncture.
“The visit represents the excellent and steadily growing relationship between Italy and Saudi Arabia and the talks are aimed at further boosting existing bilateral cooperation in the spirit of the close friendship which has produced fruitful exchanges in various fields,” the spokesman said.
Berlusconi’s tour comes within a month of the visit of Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini for the 10th session of the Saudi-Italian Joint Commission.
The agreement to avoid double taxation will further cement bilateral economic ties and increase mutual investments between the two countries. It comes into effect on Jan. 1, 2010.
Lamborto Dini, head of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the Italian Senate, visited Riyadh in February and held talks with Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Al-Assaf and a number of members of the Shoura Council. Stivania Kracksi, Italian deputy minister of foreign affairs, also visited the Kingdom in March and had talks with Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Nizar Madani, Minister of Culture and Information Abdul Aziz Khoja and Minister of Commerce and Industry Abdullah Zainal Alireza.
Madani recently visited Italy where he took part in the conference held on Afghanistan, and Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi participated in the summit of the G8 on energy in Rome.
Berlusconi’s tour comes within a week of the visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Spanish President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is also arriving here in a few days time. These visits by European heads of state, together with that of Berlusconi, have been linked by the Italian media to what they describe as Saudi efforts to mobilize European support for an expected renewed Middle East peace bid by Saudi Arabia.
