Italy, Kingdom ties getting stronger
Today, on our national day, we are celebrating the 66th anniversary of the referendum by which the Italian people, after the tragedy of the II World War, chose that Italy would have been a Republic. From that historical turning point, Italy undertook a long and successful path, becoming – from the rubble of the war – one of the major world economies.
This year we are also celebrating the 80th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic and trade relations between Italy and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As a matter of fact, Italy was one of the first few countries to establish relations with the Kingdom shortly after it was declared a unified modern state by King Abdul Aziz Al Saud. In 1932, a Consulate was established in Jeddah and a ten-year cooperation agreement with the Kingdom was signed.
Throughout their history, the Italian-Saudi relations have been stable and impervious to political earthquakes that swept the world in varying degrees mostly because of political determination and a shared vision of a peace-loving strategy.
The economic and trade relations between Italy and the Kingdom are equally strong and growing in today’s globalized world. This is not surprising given the Saudis’ particular appreciation for the beauty and quality of Italian products, whether these products are consumer items or heavy machinery. Italy is one of the favorite destinations for Saudi people who are eager to discover the beauty of our land and our historical and artistic heritage.
The Saudi-Italian trade exchange is expanding at a fast pace. In the year 2011 the bilateral trade has surpassed for the first time the ten billion Euros mark, reaching 10,928 million Euros. Our exports to Saudi Arabia increased by almost 40% compared to 2010, reaching 3,72 billion Euros, while our imports from the Kingdom increased by 123% reaching 7,21 billion Euros. And this positive trend is continuing in the first few months of 2012.
Of course there is room for further improvement especially with regard to bilateral investments. Several Italian Companies have been long standing partners in the development of Saudi Arabia and are now ready to build on the opportunities offered by the impressive infrastructure and economic development programs promoted in the Kingdom.
The two countries have also been active in developing cultural exchanges and we are now aiming at increasing the number of Saudi students in Italy. To this end, relevant steps have been taken through specific agreements between Italian and Saudi universities. Over the last few years several cultural events have been organized by the Italian Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulate General in Jeddah in order to make aware the Saudi public of the richness of the Italian cultural heritage.
In the last few years, the frequent official visits have been instrumental in strengthening bilateral ties and in exploring new horizons of economic, technical, scientific and cultural exchange. The visit of Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and Minister of Economic Development Paolo Romani to Riyadh in November 2010 occurred in this context. The two Ministers were accompanying a business delegation of more than one hundred companies, the largest ever Italian business delegation in the Kingdom, mostly in the infrastructure and construction sectors. In October 2011, the Minister of Economic Development Paolo Romani came back to Saudi Arabia in order to further develop the economic relations between the two countries.
There is no doubt that the long standing presence in the Kingdom of a dynamic Italian community - fully engaged in the development of Saudi Arabia - has been and still is one of the key elements of a successful bilateral relation. I wish to thank all the Italians for their special contribution to this endeavor.
National Days are a time to reflect upon the significance of crucial events in the history of a nation. The memory of the events which led to the birth of Italy as a unified nation and the consideration of how far we have come since should guide us in producing the collective responses that we need today to cope with the problems still to be resolved and the new challenges to be faced.
Let me express my best wishes for a great future to two friendly countries, the Republic of Italy and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
H.E. Valentino Simonetti
Italian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
