Lamberto Dini, former prime minister of Italy and President of Foreign Relations Senate Committee, arrived in Riyadh Thursday to hold talks with high-ranking Saudi officials. Dini has a two-point agenda, Middle East peace and the international financial crisis, an official source at the Italian Embassy here, said. Dini, as head of a six-member Italian parliamentary delegation, is scheduled to hold talks with Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf, Minister of Finance, besides addressing a session of the Shoura Council. The Italian leader also called on Sheikh Saleh Bin Humeid, Chairman of the Shoura Council. Dini, also a noted economist, will hold talks with Saudi officials on the current global financial crisis. “The Italian ex-premier will also discuss the recent political developments in the Middle East,” the embaasy official said. Italian peacekeeping forces have been in the forefront of deployment to monitor the peace in the Middle East. The embassy official said the ex-premier's visit will also consolidate the bilateral economic relations between Saudi Arabia and Italy. The visit of the Italian parliamentary delegation is in exchange for the visit by the Saudi Shoura Council, he said. The Italian delegation will hold talks concerning mutual interest with the Foreign Relations Committee, besides meeting the Saudi and Italian business community in Riyadh. During his four-day visit to the Kingdom, Dini will also attend a decorative ceremony to honor Yousuf Al-Maimani, a Shoura Council member, and meet Prince Abdullah Bin F. Al-Turki, former governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority.
