Italy-UAE Association launches 2016-17 programme

(AGI) Rome, May 24 - Around 30 collaborative projects, particularly in the economic and cultural fields, are under examination by the Italy-United Arab Emirates (UAE) Association. The association's Italian chairman is Francesco Rutelli, who has concluded a visit to the Gulf state for the first joint meeting. The chairman of the UAE board is SE Homaid Al Shimmari, CEO of Mubadala Aerospace and Engineering, which wholly owns Piaggio Aerospace. A further 19 high-level representatives of the main economic, productive, and social bodies in the country have been chosen alongside him. Trade between Italy and the UAE hit a record of 7 billion euros in 2015, with Italian exports worth more than 6 billion. "But a lot more can be done," said Rutelli. "I have found - said the former Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Culture and Mayor of Rome - huge possibilities for cooperation for investment between the two countries and for cooperation on cultural matters. These opportunities are further strengthened by the interest in the 2015 Milan Expo experience, in the run up to Dubai 2020. Indeed, the Emirates began by initiating a policy of economic diversification from oil, an example later followed by several other countries in the region." (AGI) . .