Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will be in Manama next week to attend the 46th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.
The invitation — extended by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa — is rare and strategically significant. For Rome, it represents political, geopolitical and geoeconomic recognition of its growing Euro-Mediterranean role. For the Gulf, it signals trust in a European partner seen as pragmatic amid the region’s strategic realignment.
The news: Meloni is also expected to hold a bilateral meeting with the King of Bahrain, continuing conversations launched during Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa’s visit to Rome in September, when the Strategic Investments and Collaboration Partnership was launched.
Why it matters: The mission comes as Italy is consolidating a multilayer presence in the Gulf.
- It follows Italy’s agreements with several countries in the Gulf Region.
- It falls in the same week that Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called Riyadh “a key partner for Italy” at a business forum attended by more than 500 Italian companies.
- It aligns with Bahrain’s 2025 presidency of the GCC, which positions Rome among the most active EU players in advancing the GCC–EU channel ahead of the 2026 Riyadh summit.
The big picture: The invitation places Meloni among a tiny group of foreign leaders admitted to the Gulf’s top political gathering in recent years: Recep Tayyip Erdogan (2023), Xi Jinping (2022), Theresa May (2016), François Hollande (2015), and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2007).
The message is twofold:
- Externally, Italy is seen as a pragmatic partner on security, energy and technology as Gulf states diversify their international ties.
- Internally, Meloni’s return to the region reinforces Rome’s image as a stable, coherent long-term interlocutor.
Zoom in: Italy’s priorities at the GCC. Key pillars of Italy’s agenda in Manama:
- Investment & industry: trade, technology, services, and industrial know-how.
- Energy & environment: transition, hydrogen, green technologies.
- Infrastructure & smart cities: major development projects and urban innovation.
- Food & health security: resilient supply chains and health capabilities.
- Space cooperation: advanced technology partnerships.
- Customs & standards: regulatory cooperation and interoperability.
Politically, Italy and Gulf states share broad alignment on:
- Gaza: two-state solution, ceasefire stabilisation, reconstruction focused on prosperity.
- Syria: reconstruction and voluntary returns coordinated with UN agencies.
- Iran: commitment to the NPT and potential reopening of diplomatic channels.
- Ukraine: support for a “just and lasting” peace and an end to Russian aggression
The Meloni–Hamad bilateral will reinforce this alignment.
Italy’s Gulf strategy. The Meloni government has built a multilayer economic-diplomatic approach along four main lines:
- Deep economic integration: From Saudi Arabia to the UAE, Qatar, and now Bahrain, Italy is expanding industrial, technological and commercial cooperation.
- Security and defence: With Riyadh, Meloni opened the door to potential Saudi participation in the GCAP sixth-generation fighter program, while underscoring the kingdom’s central regional role.
- Energy diplomacy: Green hydrogen, energy corridors to Europe, and Italy’s industrial capabilities are used as strategic geopolitical tools.
- Building the EU–GCC channel: Italy is among the most active European players reviving political dialogue with the Gulf.
- Rome is pushing to advance free-trade agreement talks.
- A senior diplomatic source describes Meloni’s work with the Gulf as “brilliant.”
What to watch in Manama. Three key dynamics to monitor:
- Regional security – Focus on Gaza, but also Lebanon, Syria and Sudan — all critical to Gulf security and Italy’s broader Mediterranean posture.
- Economic openings – New opportunities for Italian companies in innovation, energy, infrastructure and smart-city development.
- Gulf investment in Italy – Growing interest linked to two major long-term Italian strategic projects:
- The Mattei Plan for Africa
- The IMEC corridor connecting India, the Middle East and Europe.
