The UAE and Italy held the second strategic dialogue between the two countries during an official visit of Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the UAE News Agency WAM reported on Saturday.

The UAE side was headed by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, and the Italian delegation was led by Angelino Alfano, the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in the presence of Saqr Nasser Al Raisi, UAE Ambassador to Italy, and a number of Italian business people.

The dialogue discussed relations between the two countries across consular, educational, cultural, economic, aviation and a number of other fields. 

It also touched on the developments in the region, notably Libya, Syria and Yemen, in addition to stressing the importance of combating terrorism and extremism.

Sheikh Abdullah and Minister Alfano also signed a MoU to establish a consular committee between the two countries.

The volume of non-oil trade between the two countries reached US$8.2 billion in 2016, making the UAE the most important market for Italian exports in the Gulf region.

Source: MENA