Qatar Emir Al Thani on State Visit to Italy

The Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, will make a two-day state visit to Italy starting tomorrow, Monday 21 October. A mission that confirms the excellent diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries and the desire to collaborate at a critical time for the entire Middle East region. On this occasion, Emir Al Thani will meet the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarellaand the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. The talks will focus not only on international issues, but also on bilateral relations and issues of common interest. In recent months, Italy has supported Qatar in its mediation efforts to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and to free the hostages held by the Palestinian Islamist movement in the Strip. The two countries share a common commitment to stability in the region, including with regard to the conflict in Lebanon.

Political cooperation between Italy and Qatar has intensified in recent years, as also confirmed by the visit of the President of the Republic Mattarella to Doha in January 2020 and the previous visit of the Emir Al Thani to Rome in February 2023. In addition, there have been frequent meetings between the Foreign Ministers who signed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Dialogue in 2020, aimed at further strengthening bilateral and diplomatic relations in areas of common interest. In the defense sector, there has also been a strengthening of cooperation, thanks to the various meetings of the Defense Ministers and the perception of Italy as a reliable partner in the Gulf country. The excellent bilateral relations have also attracted many Italian companies to operate in Qatari territory and stimulated Qatari investments in Italy.

Italy and Qatar have extensive bilateral cooperation in various sectors, such as investment, energy (including gas markets and renewables), defense and military cooperation. The two countries are also exploring opportunities in the fields of food security, biotechnology, life sciences and urban management. From 29 to 31 October, the Agency for the promotion abroad and internationalization of Italian companies (ICE) will participate in Doha at Milipol Qatar, an event for professionals from the entire security and territorial protection sector. With its first participation in the event, ICE wants to offer Italian companies an opportunity to access national security markets in the Middle East region, creating or strengthening business relations in the area of ​​interest.

Furthermore, there are strong relations between Italy and Qatar in the cultural sector, also thanks to the integrated promotion activities carried out by the Italian Embassy in Doha over the years. These relations can count on the activities of the Italian creative industries in Doha (especially in the fashion and architecture/design sectors) and on the presence of numerous Italian experts and professionals in some of the most prestigious local institutions, such as museums and foundations. In the sports sector, Qatar’s policies have been the subject of massive investments in recent years, both from an infrastructural point of view (with the construction of stadiums, sports centers and circuits) and from that of training and sports education. Italy has also given its contribution to these projects through the companies that have participated in the tenders for the infrastructure works and through its professionals in the sector. In some cases, such presences have allowed for the launch of a structured cooperation between sports federations, as occurred in the football sector (with the Italian Super Cup held in Doha in 2014 and 2016) or between the Italian Fencing Federation and the Qatar Fencing Federation.

In terms of economic cooperation, according to data from “Infomercatiesteri.it”, between January and May 2024, Italy was the tenth destination market for Qatar’s exports (with a market share of 2,5 percent) and the fourth supplier of the Gulf country (market share: 5,2 percent). In the first six months of this year, Qatar ranked 53rd as a destination market for Italy’s exports (market share: 0,3 percent) and 43rd as a supplier of Italy (0,4 percent). At the European level, Italy ranked first as a supplier of Qatar both in 2023 (market share: 6,44 percent) and in the first five months of 2024 (5,20 percent). From January to May, it is followed by the United Kingdom (4,94 percent), Germany (4,38 percent), France (2,73 percent) and Spain (1,45 percent). In the first six months of this year, Qatar’s trade with Italy stood at 2.016 million euros, a decrease of 38,4 percent compared to the same period in 2023 (3.272 million euros).

The main Italian products exported to Qatar between January and June 2024 are: general purpose machinery (21,2 percent of total exports); aircraft, spacecraft and related devices (15,6 percent); other general purpose machinery (7,3 percent). Weapons and ammunition are among the Italian products exported to Qatar, but represent only 3,7 percent of the total. In this sector, Leonardo plays a fundamental role in Qatar, thanks to its technologies used in the Gulf country for almost 25 years and a significant presence with its representative office and a company in Doha. Leonardo supplies the Qatari Navy with the combat system for seven new units built by Fincantieri and equipped with Leonardo naval systems and sensors. The company is also developing a Naval Operations Center for the coordination of maritime operations. Leonardo is the prime contractor for the NH90 programme, which includes the supply of 28 aircraft, while over 40 helicopters, including AW139s and AW189s, perform offshore transport, public utility, surveillance, search and rescue and emergency medical services missions on a daily basis. The Qatari Air Force has ordered six M-346 advanced trainer aircraft, with its pilots already integrated into flight training at the International Flight Training School, and Leonardo also plays a leading role in the Eurofighter Typhoon programme for the Gulf country.

As for the main products imported into Italy from Qatar between January and June 2024, we have: natural gas (89,4 percent of total imports); basic chemical products, fertilizers and nitrogen compounds, plastics and synthetic rubber in primary forms (6,1 percent of the total); products deriving from petroleum refining (2,3 percent); footwear, clothing and travel items are also among the main imported products (1 percent of the total). In the first six months of this year, Italian imports from Qatar stood at 1.107 million euros, registering a decrease of 35,5 percent compared to the same period in 2023 (1.715 million euros). This contraction was mainly caused by the suspension, for security reasons, of liquefied natural gas (LNG) traffic from Qatar to European markets via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal following the Houthi attacks launched in November 2023 against commercial and military vessels transiting the area. The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and provides the shortest maritime link between Asia and Europe. In addition, Italy is closely linked to LNG imports and Qatar is the main supplier of this energy resource. In October 2023, the state-owned company QatarEnergy signed a 27-year LNG supply agreement with Italy’s Eni.

The alternative Red Sea route to import LNG from Qatar to Europe required circumnavigating Africa (via the Cape of Good Hope), adding about 20 days to the delivery time and return time through the Strait of Hormuz for the same vessel. The prolonged pause or structural reduction in traffic through the Suez Canal has reduced the flexibility of a gas market that was moving towards increasingly marked globalization after the cut in supplies from Russia to Europe, caused by the war in Ukraine. Less flexibility, in a tense market context like the current one, inevitably means higher costs for importing countries. According to the latest World Bank report entitled “Growth in the Middle East and North Africa”, the conflict in the region has led to a 62 percent drop in revenues from the Suez Canal to Egypt in the first half of 2024 compared to the second half of 2023.