Abu Dhabi: UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan received Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi, during his official visit to Rome.

Present were Ambassador Abdul Aziz bin Nasser Al Shamsi, UAE Ambassador to Italy and Mohammed Al Khaja, Adviser in the office of Foreign Minister.

The two sides discussed the bilateral issues and exchanged views on the regional and international issues. The two ministers stressed the strength of bilateral ties between the UAE and Italy.

The Italian FM hailed the important role of the UAE at the regional and international arenas. He said at the press conference that there is bright future for industrial, financial and investment cooperation between the two countries. He referred to the strength of cultural ties, citing the inauguration of the first school to teach the Italian language in the UAE.

For his part, Shaikh Abdullah expressed his pride about the strong relations with Italy, adding that the two countries could work together to tackle huge international challenges such as World Financial Crisis through exchange of expertise.

Regarding Syria, Shaikh Abdullah expressed his concern about the violence, hoping the international community would support the diplomatic initiative of the Arab League, which will be submitted to the United Nations Security Council during next week.

According to the statement issued by the Italian Foreign Ministry, the two ministers discussed the main international security issues such as the situation in Syria, the Iranian Nuclear File and the transitional period for democracy in Libya
Shaikh Abdullah also met Vatican Foreign Minister Dominique Mamberti at the General Secretariat of Vatican State. The two sides discussed the activation of religious dialogues and the situation of Christian minorities in the Arab and Muslim World, as well as the regional and international issues of mutual interest.

The two ministers stressed the strength of relations between the two sides.

Present were UAE Non Resident Ambassador to Vatican and UAE Ambassador to Spain Dr Hasa Abdullah Ahmed Al Otaiba and Mohammed Al Khaja, Adviser in the office of UAE Foreign Minister.