Italy's Meloni bags UAE investment pledge worth $40 billion

The United Arab Emirates plans to invest $40 billion in Italy, the two countries said at a bilateral summit in Rome, without providing any time frame.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has pursued stronger ties with Gulf countries since taking office in 2022, ignoring concerns over human rights issues raised by political opponents.

Under her watch, Italy lifted arms sales embargoes for the UAE and Saudi Arabia imposed by previous governments due to the war in Yemen.

On Monday, Meloni welcomed UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahya on a state visit to Rome, and the pair pledged to work towards a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership".

As part of this partnership, the UAE committed to invest $40 billion in Italy across key sectors, the two governments said in a joint statement, which also announced the signing of "more than 40 new agreements".

The deals involved major Italian companies such as energy group Eni, lender Intesa Sanpaolo, telecoms operator Telecom Italia, arms maker Leonardo and shipbuilder Fincantieri.

Eni said it had signed an agreement with UAE companies MGX and G42 to develop data centres in Italy, powered by natural gas power plants that use carbon capture technology.

Eni also signed a deal with UAE renewable energy firm Masdar and Taqa Transmission, giving it the status of "preferred off-taker" of the renewable energy produced in Albania under an Italo-UAE-Albanian deal announced in January.

Intesa SanPaolo, Italy's no.1 bank, sealed a memorandum of understanding with UAE energy group Masdar over M&A activities in international renewable markets, while Leonardo's deal with UAE's EDGE Group followed up on a collaboration agreement announced last week.

"It is a historic day, another milestone in our relationship," Meloni told the Italy-United Arab Emirates Business Forum in Rome.

"The choice we made was to focus this partnership on strategic axes, such as artificial intelligence, data centres, space research, renewable energy and rare earths," she added.

The joint statement pointed to enhanced military and security cooperation through "joint production, technology transfer, and the development of defense manufacturing facilities."

It also mentioned joint cybersecurity exercises and the need for closer cooperation on ransomware threats, including with global partners such as the United States.

Last month, Meloni signed a strengthened strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia that was accompanied by business deals worth around $10 billion.