AlQa'dah 6, 1432, Oct 4, 2011, SPA - The United Arab Emirates' Minister of Foreign Trade Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qassimi and Italy's Minister of Economic Development Paolo Romani held official talks here on Monday, which focused on means of bolstering trade and investment relations between the two countries. In remarks at the meeting, Sheikha Lubna noted that there are state-sponsored plans in place for the non-oil sectors where strategic investment opportunities and partnerships with UAE companies are available for Italian companies and investors. She called on the private sectors in the UAE and Italy to realize these opportunities into investments to further enhance the national economies of both countries. For his part, the Italian minister stressed his country's interest in promoting cooperation with the UAE which he said is "an important strategic partner in the Middle East." Non-oil trade exchange between the UAE and Italy reached AED 16.4 billion in 2010 and grew by 22% to reach AED 5 billion in the first quarter of 2011, according to a report of the UAE news agency "WAM".
