RIYADH: There is an urgent need for the resumption of the Arab-Israeli peace process, observed Lamberto Dini, former Italian Prime Minister and chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, who wrapped up a two-day visit to Riyadh yesterday.
Dini, who was in the Kingdom on an invitation from Shoura Council Chairman Saleh Bin-Humaid, held talks yesterday with Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf and key officials of the Saudi-Italian Parliamentary Friendship Society headed by Khalil Al-Ibrahim. He also attended a dinner reception hosted in his honor by Italian Ambassador Eugenio d’Auria at the envoy’s residence.
“We have witnessed a spate of killings and devastation in Gaza. The time is running out and we cannot continue to stonewall the peace agreement,” Dini said. “Italy will offer its best support to the Kingdom in its march toward solving this issue during the period ahead.”
The senator said the peace plan put forward by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in 2002 is still on the table, but he lamented that no action has been taken.
He said the appointment of George Mitchell as US Middle East envoy to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is “an encouraging sign.” He also stressed that the Israeli-Palestinian issue is the cornerstone of all problems in the region.
Regarding the GCC-EU relations, Dini said political and economic issues are blocking the whole process.
“Economic matters should not be mixed with political considerations. This difference of opinion is stalling the creation of a free trade area for these regional bodies,” he said.
During his talks with the Saudi finance minister, Dini said the two parties mainly discussed the global economic crisis that has affected a large number of countries in the world. “The economic downturn is the most serious crisis confronted by the world community since 1930s,” he said.
He said the initiatives that would be taken at the G-20 Summit in London in April and the subsequent G-8 meeting, which will be held in Rome, would be merged to take a concerted action to overcome the current crisis. “What is needed is not wishy-washy issuing of communiqués and creating hand-shaking opportunities for the leaders,” he said.
“The need of the hour is to set up new rules for governing the financial system domestically starting from the United States and the European countries, including the United Kingdom. It should find an agreement on broader issues for the global governance of the economy. The imbalance emerged during the period of globalization is the result of abuses of globalization on the part of the main players in the field.”
Describing the bilateral trade between the two countries as excellent, Dini said a number of Italian companies are keen on participating in the development projects of the Kingdom. He said Italy was interested in attracting more tourists from the Kingdom.
Last year, he said, some 28,000 Saudis obtained visas from Italian missions in the Kingdom to visit the country.
