Shaikh Mohammed receives Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta and his accompanying delegation in Dubai.
Present at the meeting was Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Shaikh Mohammed and Letta exchanged talks on a number of mutual and regional issues in the presence of Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, and Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.
During the meeting, the two sides focused on ways to enhance relations in trade, investment and other fields of mutual interest, such as customs and privatisation between the two countries.
Shaikh Mohammed affirmed that the UAE is always working on opening up new channels with various friendly countries in order to discuss cooperation possibilities in various fields, especially issues which would benefit the UAE, its people and these countries.
The Vice-President welcomed the Italian Prime Minister to the UAE, saying: “This is a friendship visit, which will open up broader horizons to discover new domains so as to build economic and investment.”
Letta praised the UAE’s cultural boom in all avenues, expressing the wishes of the Italian government, its people and the private sector to expand cooperation and partnership fields with the UAE, especially as Italy has a privatisation programme which would avail new investment opportunities. He also invited Emirati investors to build partnerships with Italian businessmen and companies and said that 300 Italian companies are operating in various fields in the UAE.
He also hailed the humanitarian stance of the UAE leadership, government and people, highlighting the aid provided by the UAE to the needy, especially in areas prone to natural catastrophes, wars or diseases.
Among those who attended the meeting were Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chairman of Emirates Group; Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister for Cabinet Affairs; Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy and head of the honorary mission accompanying the Italian Prime Minister; Reem Ibrahim Al Hashemi, Minister of State, Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, Director-General of the Ruler’s Court, Government of Dubai, Sultan Ahmad bin Sulayem, chairman of Ports, customs and free zones and Khalifa Saeed Suleiman, Director-General of the Department of Protocol and Hospitality in Dubai.
From the Italian side, the accompanying delegation and ambassador of Italy to the UAE Giorgio Starace, attended the meeting.
