UAE and Italy A historical friendship and a mutual desire to develop and protect common interests

H.E. Mohammed Thani Murshed Al Rumaithi

Chairman of the Federation of the UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry

The UAE-Italian relations have been characterized by a distinguished economic and strategic partnership in recent years, which culminated in the signing of two historic agreements between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and the Italian oil and gas company, Eni.

Although this partnership is one of the many aspects of cooperation between the UAE and Italy, it is of special importance, given that it embodies the first participation of an Italian company in the oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi, which falls under the UAE’s consistent approach to build bridges of communication and cooperation with various countries of the world in a way that achieves common interests, and contributes to efforts for development and progress in various fields and sectors.

In addition to this, there are numerous partnerships between the two countries that included the fields of trade, education, cultural and technical cooperation. Today there are several Italian companies investing in the field of trade in the UAE, benefiting from previous agreements between the two countries under which double taxation was avoided and investments protected.

The United Arab Emirates is also considered among the best global destinations for attracting Italian citizens, as it is currently home to the largest Italian community in the Middle East that reached nearly 13,000 Italian citizens during 2020, in addition to welcoming about 270,000 Italian tourists annually.

The UAE is also the most important market for Italian exports in the Arab Gulf region, especially with regard to food industry products, reaching 197 million euros (877 million dirhams) during the first nine months of 2020. Despite the decline in exports during that period, Italy is still ranked fourth among the UAE's largest food and beverage partners in the world.