Today, on our National Day, we are celebrating the 65th anniversary of the referendum by which the Italian people, after the tragedy of World War II, chose Italy to be a Republic. From that historical turning point, Italy undertook a long and successful path, rising — from the rubble of the war — to become one of the major world economies, a member of the G8 and a founding member of the European Union. Italy was one of the first few countries to establish diplomatic and trade relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia when it opened its Consulate in Jeddah and signed a ten-year cooperation agreement with the Kingdom in 1933, i.e. shortly after the Kingdom was declared a unified modern state by King Abdul Aziz Al Saud. 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 normal consumer items or heavy capital machines. Italy is one of the favorite destinations for Saudi people who are eager to discover the incomparable beauty of our land.The two countries have also been active in furthering cultural exchanges in addition to the economic and political cooperation achieved. Two versions of the cultural event Nawafeth - Soglie with the participation of women artists from both countries were organized in Riyadh and Rome in the recent past. A number of Italian intellectuals were invited to deliver lectures mostly covering the Italian-Islamic cultural relations. Additionally, a full-time professor has been assigned by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to teach Italian language to interested Saudi students of the King Saud University.We are now aiming at increasing the number of Saudi students in Italy, and to do so relevant steps have been taken through the signature of specific agreements between Italian and Saudi universities in the framework of the King Abdul Aziz Scholarship Program (KASP).The frequent official visits aim at giving these ties more concrete nature and 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 Confindustria (the association of the Italian industries) delegation of more than 100 companies (the largest ever Italian business delegation in the Kingdom), mostly in the infrastructure and construction sectors. The mission was unanimously considered a great success, thanks also to the contributions from SAGIA and the Council of Saudi Chambers, providing the basis for further strengthening the relations between the two business communities.The Saudi-Italian trade exchange is recovering at a fast pace from the 2008-2009 crisis. Our exports to Saudi Arabia increased this year by 10 percent and their level is getting back to that of 2007-2008, when Italy competed for the first position in the ranking of the main EU exporting countries. We are perfectly aware that there’s still room for improvement, especially with regard to bilateral investments, but we are at the same time convinced that the Italian companies are ready to build on the opportunities offered by the impressive infrastructure and development programs promoted in the Kingdom. This year the Italian National Day also marks the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of Italy’s Unity. Italy was born as a unified state on March 17, 1861, (indeed a relatively young nation) when the Parliament proclaimed Victor Emmanuel the King of Italy, after decades of struggle to gain independence from foreign rule and to overcome internal divisions.Let me express my best wishes for a great future to two friendly countries — the Republic of Italy and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
