Reception held to mark Italy’s 2 historic events

Italian Ambassador Valentino Simonetti hosted a well-attended reception Saturday night for the diplomatic community and invited guests at his residence inside the Diplomatic Quarter on the occasion of Italy's National Day.
He thanked Riyadh Gov. Prince Sattam for gracing the occasion as well as Italian firms and other individuals who had contributed in one way or another to make the occasion “a great success.”
The Italian envoy said that two events were being celebrated on the occasion. These included the 66th anniversary of the referendum in which the Italian people chose to make their country a republic and the 80th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Italy and Saudi Arabia.
In Jeddah, Italy marked its 66th anniversary of the birth of the Italian republic in the presence of Saleh Omar Bashahab, ambassador from the ministry of foreign affairs, Simone Petroni, Italian consul general, Antonio Gallogo, vice consul, other diplomats, dignitaries and distinguished guests at the premises of Italian cultural centre on Saturday.
“As a matter of fact, Italy was one of the first few countries to establish diplomatic relations with the Kingdom shortly after it was declared a unified modern state by King Abdul Aziz in 1932,” Simonetti said, adding that a consulate was eventually established in Jeddah and a ten-year cooperation agreement with the Kingdom was signed.
He added that bilateral ties between the two countries had been stable all along and “impervious to political earthquakes that swept the world … because of political determination and a shared vision for peace-loving strategy.”
He also said that in November 2010, the foreign and economic development ministers came to Saudi Arabia, accompanying a business delegation of more than 100 companies, adding that it was the largest ever Italian business delegation to visit the Kingdom.
He added that “national days are a time to reflect upon the significance of crucial events in the history of a nation.”
He said that the memory of these events which led to the foundation of the Republic of Italy and the consideration of how far we have come since should guide us in producing the collective responses that we need to cope with the problems still to be resolved and the new challenges to be faced.
“Today, mindful of the earthquake that hit Italy two weeks back allow me to conclude by expressing our deep sympathy to the families of the victims and to all those who have been displaced or lost their homes,” he said.
“We welcome the Saudi-Italian trade exchange, which is growing very fast. In 2011 the bilateral trade exceeded 10 billion Euro, Italian exports to the Kingdom increased by almost 40 percent while imports increased to 123 percent, reaching more than 7.2 billion Euros,” Petroni said.
The relationship between two countries goes beyond these figures, covering practically every sector of bilateral interest. Both are active members of the UN, G20. Saudi Arabia is a leading member of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Italy is the father of European Union.
A minute of silence was dedicated to the demised in the recent earthquakes in northern Italy. Petroni said the consulate would keep the Italian people in the Kingdom informed with the latest updates.
— With input from Fouzia Khan