Italian PM Meloni wraps up tour of Gulf countries

ABU DHABI

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived in the United Arab Emirates on April 4 on the third and final leg of a trip that also took her to Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

In Abu Dhabi, she was received by President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Meloni's office said their talks focused on the Middle East war and the conditions required to end it, "starting with the need to guarantee freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz."

In Doha earlier in the day, she met Qatari leader Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to discuss the energy crisis sparked by the ongoing conflict.

Meloni's office said she and the Qatari emir "tackled energy issues... and discussed possible measures to mitigate the shocks suffered."

She also said Italy was ready to "contribute to the rehabilitation of Qatari energy infrastructure, which is essential to energy security on a global scale".

Italy is highly dependent on energy imports and has been eyeing rising energy prices with growing concern.

Meloni arrived in Qatar from Saudi Arabia, where she met de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Her trip to the Gulf, which has been targeted on a daily basis by Iranian missile and drone attacks in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli strikes, was not announced in advance.

Meloni was the first leader of a European Union or NATO country to travel to the Gulf since the war broke out on February 28 with a wave of US-Israeli attacks that killed Iran's supreme leader.