Mohamed bin Zayed meets Italian President

ROME: His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the U.A.E. Armed Forces, discussed with President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, the bilateral relations and ways to enhance them. The two sides also discussed other issues of mutual interest. Napolitano received Sheikh Mohamed and his accompanying delegation at the Quirinal Palace "Palazzo del Quirinale." Upon his arrival to the Palace, Sheikh Mohamed was accorded an official reception, inspected a guard of honour and shook hands with the Italian President and his accompanying official delegation. Giorgio Napolitano welcomed Sheikh Mohamed's visit, expressing his happiness at meeting him in order to discuss ways to support joint work in the light of the developments in bilateral relations in all domains. The Abu Dhabi Crown Prince conveyed the greetings of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the Italian President, and his best wishes of further progress and welfare to the Italian people. H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister attended the meeting. The two sides also reviewed the existing cooperation in various fields and discussed the importance to boost these in order to fulfil the aspirations of the two friendly peoples, especially in the economic, investment, trade, cultural and air transport fields. Sheikh Mohamed expressed his happiness at visiting Italy and said he was satisfied with the level of friendship and cooperation between the two countries in various political, economic, trade and cultural fields, noting that exchanging bilateral visits is one of the prime factors in ensuring continuous development of the relationship. He added that the U.A.E. and Italy have the potential for establishing partnerships at the multiple levels for the benefit of both sides, pointing out the importance of exchanging constructive ideas to boost bilateral relations and open horizons of further development. "We are happy to meet you Mr President in order to work together to enhance cooperation to the advantage of our countries as well as exchanging ideas with you to bolster the existing relations between us, evolving into a better future." On his part, the Italian President expressed satisfaction at the development of relations between his country and the U.A.E., which enjoys a good reputation at the international level, in addition to its sophisticated economic capabilities and pioneering initiatives in the developmental and humanitarian domains. He also wished that the relations would witness more constructive co-operation and continuous co-ordination for the benefit of the two countries and the world. He also tackled the issue of Italy hosting the Expo Milano 2015 and the U.A.E.'s successful bid to host Dubai Expo 2020, discussing the two countries' capabilities to host these international events, co-operation and co-ordination opportunities between the two sides, as well as ways to derive benefit from the joint expertise and capabilities to make the events successful. Sheikh Mohamed and Giorgio Napolitano commended the agreement signed between Etihad Airways and Alitalia last August to enhance capabilities of Alitalia and its competitiveness in the global aviation market. The Italian President asked Sheikh Mohamed to convey his greetings to President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and wished further progress and welfare to the people of the U.A.E. During the meeting, they exchanged views on various international developments and issues of mutual concern. At the end of the meeting, the two sides expressed their willingness to continue enhancing the existing friendship and co-operation in areas of common interest, in addition to having better ties at all levels. Among those who attended the meeting were Mohammed Ahmad Al Bawardi Al Falasi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Defence; Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority (EAA); Saqr Nasser Al Raisi, U.A.E.'s Ambassador to Italy; and Mohammed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Under-Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court. From the Italian side were, apart from Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Labu Bastyli; Italian Ambassador to the U.A.E. Giorgio Starace and a number of advisors of the Italian President. – Emirates News Agency, WAM