RIYADH, 18 July — The Italian government will provide 10 scholarships to Saudi students interested to learn Italian in various institutions in the country. The decision comes within the framework of a bilateral agreement for cultural, scientific and technical cooperation, the Italian Embassy here said yesterday.
“Two Saudi students will be leaving for Italy this week to join a language course at the University of Siena,” said Massimiliano Mazzanti, second secretary at the embassy.
Two other Saudi students from the King Saud University have been granted scholarships by Societa Dante Alighieri to study Italian. They will spend one month in Florence.
He said the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had announced six additional scholarships for Saudi students for a monthlong course in Italian language. The move was aimed at encouraging Saudis to learn Italian which is spoken by nearly 100 million people.
The diplomat said the Kingdom and Italy had forged close relations in the cultural front. Italy, which boasts of the largest mosque and Islamic center outside the Islamic world, has been a natural partner of Saudi Arabia in Europe.
Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, recently inaugurated the King Abdul Aziz Center for Islamic Studies at the Italian city of Bologna.
