DOHA: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with Qatari leader Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Saturday to discuss the energy crisis sparked by the ongoing war in the Middle East. Meloni arrived in Qatar after a visit to Saudi Arabia, where she had talks with 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 US-Israeli strikes, was not announced in advance.
According to a statement from her office, Meloni and the Qatari emir "tackled energy issues... and discussed possible measures to mitigate the shocks suffered". The Italian prime minister also said her country was ready to "contribute to the rehabilitation of Qatari energy infrastructure, which is essential to energy security on a global scale".
The aim of Meloni's Gulf trip "is to strengthen relations with these countries and repeat Italy's support against Iranian attacks", a Rome government source said on Friday, adding that the region was a "crucial source of oil and gas for Italy". The source said 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. — AFP
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