Relations between Italy and
Saudi Arabia are very solid but there is room for improvement,
Saudi Ambassador to Italy Khalid A. Krimly told an ANSA forum on
Thursday.
"Relations in the economic, political and intelligence
fields are very solid, but there is still room for improvement,"
the ambassador said at the forum titled 'Italy and Saudi Arabia:
Beyond the Crisis, Shared Challenges and New Opportunities'.
His remarks touched on several issues including the Syrian
civil war, relations with Iran, oil prices, and the launch of
'Saudi Vision 2030', a plan to diversify the economy and wean it
away from its oil dependency.
"Italy is one of the top 10 exporters to Saudi Arabia,
before Great Britain and after China, the US, Germany, Japan,
France and the UAE," Krimly said.
"Economic cooperation is increasing and there are many
companies in our country that are working on important projects.
And many Saudis visit Italy. I think, however, that our
cooperation can expand into other sectors, including cultural
and educational exchanges".
He went on to say that both Italy and Saudi Arabia are
involved in an international group working to combat the funding
of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) extremist group.
"Italians are ever more aware of the links between the
Mediterranean and the Arab world, and your country represents a
bridge between the Arab world, Africa and the rest of Europe,"
he said.
On the issue of a possible overture to dialogue with Iran,
he said that "we hope for this, but Tehran must stop financing
terrorists as well as supplying them with weapons and training,
and interfering in our affairs".
"We're not questioning the importance of a role for Iran,
but it must be a positive one in support of peace and security -
not only for the region, but for the country itself," the
ambassador explained.
"A stable and safe Iran is in our interests and in theirs.
We kept dialogue open with Iran for decades. We had a great deal
of hope in (former Iranian leaders) Rafsanjani, Khatami and
Ahmadinejad. With Rouhani, the issue is very much open. We must
first see changes in behavior".
On the next meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) on November 30 in Vienna and on the
related agreement on oil production levels as an attempt to
avoid a further drop in global oil prices, the ambassador said
that "the markets will be the ones to decide, but we're of
course moving in the right direction, especially after the
latest meetings between Russia and OPEC members".
He stressed that oil price stability is in the interests of
producers as well as the world economy at large.
"In future we will need more oil than we currently consume,
and the maximum possible investments must be made at current
prices," he said.
Asked about the ongoing bloodshed in Syria, he said the
only solution is a political one.
"We support every effort to achieve an end to the conflict,
including (those made by) the United Nations," the ambassador
said.
"We need a Syria for all Syrians. What is happening in the
country is terrible and it is unimaginable that the
international community is not doing anything to stop the
atrocities. We're talking about hundreds of thousands of deaths,
of torture, rape, and millions of displaced people - which is
causing problems for neighboring countries and the EU".
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