Just days after the G7’s emergency summit on energy, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is taking one of the messages she brought to the allies into the bilateral arena: the need for a more structured dialogue with Gulf countries.
Driving the news. On Sunday, Meloni held a phone call with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with regional developments, freedom of navigation and the outlook for energy markets at the centre of the conversation, according to Palazzo Chigi.
- The two leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening cooperation between Italy and the United Arab Emirates.
The combination of issues is significant. Regional security, maritime routes and energy have increasingly become parts of the same equation: tensions around the Strait of Hormuz can quickly spill into supply chains and energy markets, eventually feeding through to costs for European businesses and households.
Why it matters. The call came only days after the October 2 extraordinary G7 meeting convened to address mounting volatility in global energy markets. Leaders agreed on a coordinated release of 100 million barrels through the International Energy Agency over four months, with a significant share of diesel supplies to be made available within the first 20 days.
- The G7 also called for the full restoration of freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Italy’s view: Meloni brought an additional proposal to the meeting. Alongside supporting coordinated action on strategic reserves, with a particular focus on diesel, the Italian prime minister renewed her call for a structured dialogue between the G7 and Gulf countries.
- Seen against that backdrop, the conversation with Mohamed bin Zayed takes on additional significance. There is no indication that the call was formally arranged as a follow-up to Meloni’s G7 proposal. But the political sequence is notable: days after identifying the Gulf as a necessary interlocutor in managing the energy crisis, Meloni spoke with the leader of one of the region’s pivotal countries about precisely the issues of energy, maritime security and regional stability.
The big picture. For Rome, the relationship with Abu Dhabi extends well beyond the immediate crisis. Energy, investment, industry, infrastructure and maritime security have progressively broadened the scope of Italy-UAE ties.
- The same applies to Italy’s wider engagement with the Gulf. The region is increasingly relevant to Rome not simply as a source of energy supplies, but also as a pool of capital, a market for Italian companies and a strategic hub along the trade routes connecting the Indo-Pacific with the Mediterranean.
Zoom out: The Meloni’s plan. There is another dimension to the call, one that concerns the way Palazzo Chigi is increasingly trying to translate foreign policy into domestic economic resilience.
- As previously explored by Decode39, the current energy shock is making the dividing line between international and domestic policy increasingly difficult to sustain. The Italian government has sought to mobilise relationships developed with energy-producing countries as it tries to contain the domestic effects of higher fuel prices.
- The logic goes further than fuel prices. For an importing and manufacturing economy such as Italy’s, a military crisis thousands of kilometres away can travel through a maritime chokepoint, hit energy markets and eventually reach petrol stations, household bills and industrial production costs. Relationships built in Baku, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and elsewhere can therefore acquire an increasingly tangible role in national economic security.
The bottom line. The Meloni–Mohamed bin Zayed call brings these two levels together.
- In the immediate term, it follows Rome’s push for a more structured relationship between the G7 and the Gulf as part of the response to the energy crisis.
- More broadly, it fits an approach in which diplomatic capital accumulated with strategic partners is increasingly being tested by its ability to help manage the domestic consequences of international shocks.
