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His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, received on Sunday Luigi Di Maio, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs. During the meeting, held at the ministry’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Abdullah and Di Maio discussed ties of friendship and cooperation between the UAE and Italy and ways to enhance them in all fields.
They reviewed Italy’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai, while touching on regional and international issues of common interest. The two sides also discussed the latest COVID-19 developments and cooperation between the two countries to contain its repercussions.
UAE accounts for up to eight percent of Italy’s trade surplus with the GCC countries and roughly seven percent of its overall surplus. In 2019 Italian exports to the UAE totaled 4.6 billion Euros, making it the country’s 21st most important market. In terms of the trade balance – the difference between the nation’s exports and imports – it is 3.7 billion Euros in favor of Italy, which is equal to about 80 percent of Italy’s trade surplus with the GCC countries and about seven percent of the country’s overall global surplus.