Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi's visit to the UAE in November will mark a new chapter in relations between the European nation and the UAE. According to Paolo Dionisi, the Italian Ambassador to the UAE, this visit — the first by an Italian prime minister since 1991 — demonstrates Italy's willingness to develop a strategic partnership with the UAE.
"Italy represents a natural bridge between the European-Western and Arab-Islamic civilisations. The UAE is a model of success: they have maintained good relations with other countries and represent a peaceful, rich, and stable multinational and multicultural society. In fact, the evolution of the political and economical situation in the Gulf and in the Middle East has helped bring our countries closer. We share a common commitment for peace and stability in the area, and have active bilateral ties in all sectors, including cultural and economic cooperation," says Dionisi.
Several bilateral agreements have also helped boost political, cultural and economic relations between the two countries. "The UAE and Italy have wide institutional framework to help bilateral ties thanks to the Economic Cooperation Agreement, Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation, Agreement on Equality of Treatment on Anchorage and Port Taxes, Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Memorandum of Understanding on Academic Cooperation. Italy is also the first among Schengen European countries to implement (from July 1, 2007), the exemption of UAE diplomatic and special passports from visa obligations. Further agreements and MoUs are also under negotiation in all sectors of cooperation," says the ambassador.
Trade delegations
Visits from several institutional delegations from Italy last year (which were more than those seen in the previous decade) have also helped the equation. "As for trade delegations, several high-level private sector and chambers of commerce trade delegations — from different regions and industrial districts of Italy — visit the UAE every week," says Dionisi.
These visits reflect the importance of the UAE as a market for Italian products and services, and as a trade partner. "The most recent figures regarding trade between Italy and the UAE are for January to April this year, and report a growth of 30.16 per cent in exports to the UAE. This translates to 1.26 billion euros (about Dh6.57 billion). Italian exports for the same period last year were valued at 972.879 million euros (about Dh5.07 billion). Italy's exports to the UAE grew by 28.31 per cent over 2005, and were valued at 3.58 billion euros (about Dh18.6 billion). On the other hand, imports from the UAE grew by 2.81 per cent. In 2005 and 2006 the UAE was the top destination for Italian exports to the Middle East and North Africa. Italian exports to the UAE consist mainly of jewellery, machines and machine appliances and other manufacturing industry products," says Dionisi.
Italian companies have also been increasing their presence in the UAE. The value of projects awarded to Italian companies between 2002 and 2006 was $4.990 million (about Dh18.32 million). However, between July 2006-July 2007 alone it stood at $3.55 million (about Dh13.03 million). The sectors attracting Italian companies/investors in the UAE are oil and gas, contracting, energy engineering, infrastructure, real estate, banking, airlines and shipping, steel and float glass production.
Dionisi also gives examples of Italian expertise and its popularity in the region. "Italians are known for their aeronautical and sailing tradition and, hence, are a major supplier of helicopters and ship parts to the UAE and other countries. Galileo, the European satellite system, is also an Italian offering. We have also received recognition in the area of medicine through the efforts of the Italian Thalassemia Centre and their use of a bone marrow transplant in the treatment of the disease," he says.
Italian Trade Commission
The high demand for Italian expertise has also motivated several Italian companies to explore the possibility of setting up operations in the UAE. The Italian embassy, which is based in Abu Dhabi, extends its co-operation to several such companies. "The Embassy actively provides support to Italian companies in the UAE market, and fully supports the three Italian business groups in the UAE that are based in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. The Italian Trade Commission — the trade promotion arm of the Embassy — is based in Dubai and operates under the supervision of the Embassy to support trade exchange between the two countries. In fact, we've increased our staff strength at the Italian Trade Commission in Dubai to serve the increasing demand of services," says Dionisi.
The Italian government is also actively promoting a strategy aimed at attracting and motivating top Italian investors to be present in this strategic market. Investments from the UAE in Italy have also grown significantly in the last few years. "In 2005 and 2006, the Mubadala Development Company acquired a five per cent stake in the Ferrari Group and a 35 per cent stake in Piaggio Aero.
In August this year, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority acquired about two per cent of the main Italian media Group, Mediaset. Several other deals related to investments from UAE-based companies in Italy are also currently under negotiation," says Dionisi.
Promoting tourism
Another area that is picking up is the tourist flow. "The growing business and economic cooperation between Italy and the UAE has represented a spontaneous instrument to boost the reciprocal knowledge of both countries. Also, the Italian cruise ship group, Costa Crociere, has been offering cruises in Dubai since December 2006, leading to a larger number of Italian tourists visiting the region. Another factor that has helped promote tourist traffic is the first direct Abu Dhabi-Italy passenger connection from Etihad Airways, which has been operating since September this year," says the ambassador.
However, according to Dionisi, the UAE tourist flow to Italy, which has great potential, needs to be further capitalised. He says, "The tourism flow from Italy to the UAE improved in the last year by around 15 per cent, but this is not enough. Milan and Rome are still not among the top ten destinations for tourists from the UAE, and are not as popular as some other European cities."
Tourism, though, will benefit, as cultural ties between the UAE and Italy get stronger. "The relations between our countries are more ancient than one expects. In fact, there is interesting evidence of a person in the region (that is currently the UAE), who dealt with the Italian explorer Bartolomeo Balbi in the trade of pearls in the 14th century.
"Research on this fascinating topic is on. We also have an exhibition planned displaying the theme of pearls in the Renaissance masterpieces," says the ambassador.
Despite the absence of an Italian Culture Institute in the Gulf, the Embassy is actively committed to showcasing Italy's cultural achievements in the UAE. "Some significant agreements in this field are currently under negotiation and involve exclusive exhibitions. They are also related to Italian expertise in architecture and design and its use in key cultural projects in the UAE," says Dionisi.
There have also been important partnerships in the area of education between the UAE and Italy.
Promoting tourism
"Starting this current academic year, 17 Emirati students are attending two-year masters programmes in fields such as architecture, business management and healthcare management at three top Italian universities: the LUISS University in Rome and the Bocconi University and Politecnico University in Milan.
This was possible due to the strong support of the Emirates Foundation, and cooperation from the embassy and participating universities," says the ambassador.
Other significant and successful initiatives in the education sector also include academic cooperation with the Zayed University, where the Italian Club, Casa Italia, holds classes that teach the Italian language and aspects of Italian culture.
The Italian language-training programme for high-ranking officers of the UAE Armed Forces in 2006-07 is also an important project. This programme will continue in the academic year 2007-08.
These initiatives, says Dionisi, represent a starting point, as education is essential to help a country achieve growth and success. They are also imperative to stronger ties between nations, as reflected in the strong ties that the UAE and Italy share.
