An Italian aircraft carrier, Cavour, which is part of the 30th Italian Naval Group, is visiting Saudi Arabia as part of the celebration of the 80th anniversary of Saudi-Italian diplomatic relations.

The Commander of the Group Adm. Paolo Treu described the ship as the “melting pot of Italian capabilities” during a press conference on board Cavour at the Jeddah Islamic Port on Tuesday.

The ship is on a mission to further strengthen and promote political, economic, social and cultural cooperation between the two countries, he said. Adm. Treu said: “It represents a milestone for the Italian Navy in an area of high importance.”

Volunteer nurses from the Red Cross along with the Italian NGI Operation Smile and Francesca Rava, were part of the deployment.

Besides Adm. Treu, the press conference was attended by Ambassador Mario Boffo, Consul General Simone Petroni and Renato Catania, commercial attache in Jeddah, besides other Italian and Saudi dignitaries from the government and the private sector.

Apart from Cavour, the Naval Group comprises logistics supply ship, Etna, the Frigate Bergamini, and Patrol Boat Borsini. There are more than 1,200 sailors and marines, including about 100 women, on board the four naval units of the Group.

After Jeddah, the group will continue on its mission for five months during which it will visit 18 countries and 20 ports.

Besides the Arabian Gulf, the circumnavigation of Africa will be in focus for an important humanitarian assistance mission that has raised expectations in local populations. This will be conducted in cooperation with Operation Smile, which has already scheduled over 200 surgeries to be performed in the surgery rooms on board Cavour, in seven African countries, including Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Congo, Morocco and Algeria.

“We will be supporting national foreign affairs policy by offering support for inter-governmental meetings and for the development of international cooperation, participating in high-visibility regional events,” Adm. Treu said.

These include the UAE National Day celebrations on Dec. 2 in Abu Dhabi, Qatar National Day on Dec. 18 in Doha, Manama Dialogue, which is a politico-military regional security conference, in Bahrain between Dec. 5 and 9 in Mina Salman.

“Cavour will act as an itinerant trailer for EXPO 2015, which is the World Exposition in Milan, supporting the exposition goals in the Arabian Gulf and in Africa while promoting what is made in Italy in important emerging markets within a prestigious Italian institutional framework,” he added.

“It is a unique mix of hearts, minds and hands, working in synergy with the personnel from non-profit charity organizations, and Italian companies,” Admiral Treu said.