Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan are among a group of Middle Eastern leaders invited to attend the Group of Seven (G7) meeting in Italy on Thursday, as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni seeks to boost Rome’s relations with the Gulf states.
The G7 is an intergovernmental forum consisting of the following major economies: the United States, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan. Italy will host the group’s annual summit at the luxurious Borgo Egnazia hotel in the country’s southeast.
Italy has invited more than a dozen countries and entities to participate in this year’s meeting, which runs from Thursday through Saturday. The following Middle Eastern and North African leaders will attend, according to the event website:
- UAE’s President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
- Jordan’s King Abdullah II
- Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune
- Tunisian President Kais Saied
Saudi media outlets reported that the Saudi crown prince was invited, and Reuters reported last week that he would attend, though he was not on the official list of attendees on the event website as of Wednesday. His attendance would be his first at a G7 meeting.
Other attendees include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Argentinian President Javier Milei, Brazilian President Lula da Silva and African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina.
This year’s forum will include sessions on the Middle East, Ukraine, migration, economic security in the Indo-Pacific region, climate change and development in Africa, and energy and artificial intelligence in the Africa-Mediterranean region. Bilateral meetings will take place on Saturday, according to the official schedule.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will participate in the session on Ukraine, according to Reuters.
Why it matters: The crown prince’s reported attendance comes amid Italy’s interest in Saudi capital. In September, Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso told the Saudi-Italian Investment Forum that Rome is seeking Gulf investment for the “Made in Italy” fund. Urso said that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is among the Gulf funds that Italy is interested in, the Saudi outlet Arab News reported at the time.
Italy announced the $1.1 billion sovereign fund in May of last year, saying it will invest in companies with importance to Italian industry, including crucial raw materials and energy.
Saudi Arabia exported $6.94 billion to Italy in 2022, mostly crude and refined petroleum, while Italy exported $4.04 billion to Saudi Arabia, including furniture, baked goods, cars and a variety of other products. The combined trade of approximately $11 billion was an increase from the roughly $9.5 billion in trade in 2021, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity.
Late last month, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan attended the G7 Finance Ministers meeting in Italy. The meeting focused on artificial intelligence, cross-border payments, development in Africa and financing needs of low-income countries, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
Italy-United Arab Emirates trade ties are similarly on the rise. The UAE exported $2.75 billion to Italy in 2022, $646 million of which was refined petroleum. Italy exported $6.52 billion to the UAE that year, including more than $1.19 billion in jewelry. Bilateral trade in 2022 thus amounted to approximately $9.25 billion, up from around $8.8 billion in 2021, according to the observatory.
In May of last year, Italy announced an end to its arms embargo on the UAE. Italy views the UAE as strategically valuable, partly because of the Gulf state’s gas, Jonathan Fenton-Harvey wrote for Al-Monitor at the time.
Know more: The Tunisian and Algerian representation at the G7 follows Meloni’s recent trips to the region. She visited Tunisia in April, where she signed agreements aimed at increasing economic opportunities and stopping the flow of migrants into Italy, The Associated Press reported.
In May, Meloni traveled to Libya and met with both rival administrations in the country.
Algeria is another important country for Italy due to its status as a major gas supplier. Algeria became Italy’s top gas supplier last year after the latter sought to reduce its dependence on Russia in response to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
