Giorgio Starace, Italian Ambassador to the UAE, says next month, when Italy holds the presidency of the European Union (EU), will see a strengthening of ties with countries in the GCC. Additionally, high-level political visits have set the tone for cooperation on various fronts.
“This is an important time for cooperation. During our Prime Minister’s visit in May, our political and economic partnership was boosted. Now, we’re approaching the Italian residency of the EU. We would like to focus on a sense of cooperation with the Gulf. We will surely try to push the attention of Brussels [home to the EU parliament] to the Gulf. We will try to promote the agreement on GCC and EU trade. We are working on a good calendar of meetings,” the ambassador tells GN Focus.
During his visit to the UAE in February, Enrico Letta, Italy’s then prime minister, signed a series of bilateral agreements on areas of culture, education, energy, oil, the environment, scientific research and tourism.
Already, Expo Milano 2015 and Expo Dubai 2020 have seen the two countries join forces in learning from each other. In travel, Italy has emerged as one of the top ten destinations for UAE residents, according to Visa’s Affluent Index 2014, which measures people’s willingness to spend, released in May. The country registered a 36 per cent increase in UAE travellers’ outbound spend, considered the highest in terms of growth.
Travel eased
This year has also seen significant announcements on reciprocal visa procedures for citizens of the UAE and of 13 of the 28 EU countries, which did not have this facility earlier. In February, the European Parliament voted to allow visa-free travel for UAE citizens to the 26 countries in the Schengen Area in Europe. The decision is likely to come into effect next year. In March the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that citizens of 13 EU member states, who hold ordinary passports, will be exempted from the need to acquire pre-entry visas to the UAE with effect from March 22, 2014.
“It was important for us to obtain the visa waiver for the UAE. However, the procedure is not complete and a visa is still required for bureaucratic reasons. Probably by the beginning of the next year the visa waiver will be ready,” says Starace.
Growth in trade
Ties between the two countries are reflected in the growth in trade. Last year total trade surpassed €6 billion (Dh30 billion). According to statistics provided by the head of the commercial office in the Italian Embassy, export trade from Italy to UAE was worth €5.51 million, while the UAE sent non-oil imports worth €1.33 million to Italy.
Jewellery and industrial machinery form key areas of trade, followed by fashion, interior design and food. The ambassador says, “Jewellery is our biggest item of trade. The industrial machinery sector is growing as well. The UAE is becoming an important hub for manufacture. There are a growing number of industrial machines coming from Italy for the sector. Fashion and interior design are growing as well. Food is now growing strongly. There are top level Italian restaurants in the UAE.”
Of course, the UAE loves the luxury performance cars from Italy.
“Let us not forget the great success of Maserati and Ferrari. The UAE is very high worldwide in terms of Ferrari sales,” says ambassador Starace.
Late last year saw the Dubai launch of Eataly, a food emporium that combines multiple cooking stations with a cafe and gourmet farmers’ market. “With Eataly, the restaurant tycoon Oscar Farinetti has added Dubai Oscar Farinetti to its network of stores in Tokyo, New York, London and Istanbul. When these brands move here that means that the market is growing here,” says the ambassador.
Reciprocal generosity
The aviation sector is poised for growth too. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad is looking at a possible investment in Alitalia. “Both governments are very keen to help this agreement. The companies are negotiating and we cross our fingers that this could be a strategic agreement that could boost more trade and tourism,” says Starace.
Starace also says the two countries place much importance on the concepts of hospitality and generosity.
“Ramadan in particular is a very interesting time where you get into deep discussions with friends,” he says.
“I remember playing chess at 5am with the then Austrian ambassador at the house of one of my dearest friends, Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, with the then Egyptian ambassador also present.”
The ambassador adds, “Once I had a big shipment of buffalo mozzarella coming from Italy and my wife asked me what to do with all of it. We sent some to our neighbours. A few days later we were overwhelmed by tons of dates. The spirit of hospitality and generosity is common in the UAE and Italy.”
