Muscat – Oman and Italy have shared a long-standing relationship that is cordial, economically beneficial, culturally vibrant, and politically deep-rooted in mutual trust.

Taking over as the new ambassador of Italy to Oman, H E Pierluigi D’Elia has a series of cultural, business-related, and people-to-people contact events lined up. This in view of the fact that the two countries have a long-standing relationship based on mutual respect, cultural exchanges and economic ties, he said.

Both nations have a history of trade and co-operation dating back to centuries. In recent times, Italy and Oman have continued to strengthen their relationship through diplomatic dialogue and collaboration in various fields, such as energy, infrastructure and art. The appointment of a new ambassador signals a commitment to further strengthening these ties and exploring new avenues for collaboration. Excerpts from an exclusive interview with H E Pierluigi D’Elia:

As the new Italian ambassador, what are your top priorities?

I am looking forward to boosting the political, economic, cultural ties of both countries. We live in a world of global and regional challenges, and unprecedented change. So, it’s important to strengthen the Omani-Italian friendship in order to tackle these challenges together. I’m also talking about climate change, the need to boost trade and investment,and all the action that we do to promote stability and peace in the region. So, my top priority will be to have more exchanges between our people, our politicians, and our businesses.

What is the strength of the Italian population in Oman?

After the pandemic, the numbers have gone down. Yet, we do have a very lively community of approximately 300 Italians living in Oman.

What about Omanis who have visited Italy – are the numbers significant?

We had a remarkable increase in visa issues in the beginning of the year. In the very first month of 2023, approximately 1,000 visas were issued for citizens from Oman. The main reason to visit Italy is tourism. But we also issued some for business purposes. There are a lot of sectors which we are looking at in order to increase cooperation and increase mutual benefits. For example, manufacturing, food, transformation, renewable energy, and green hydrogen and the tourism sector. Italy is one of the biggest economies in the world and part of the European Union, which is the largest single market, trade bloc and investor. So, there are a lot of opportunities there as Italy is a leader in recycling, biotech, pharmaceuticals, machinery, automotive, food, design, films, and fashion.

Are you planning any specific cultural exchanges in fashion, food, films?

We share so many important commonalities including a very rich culture and history. And one proof of our cooperation in the culture sector. For example, our archaeological missions in Oman – we have like nine archaeological missions here. As far as design, filmmaking and fashion is concerned, there are many avenues for collaboration. March 9 was celebrated as Italian Design Day recently and it was a huge hit.

Could you elaborate on the nine archaeological missions in Oman?

It’s about researching the rich history of Oman at archaeological sites. We have several universities doing research here to discover more about the rich history of Oman.

Is the number of Italian tourists visiting Oman good enough?
In the first part of the year, we already had more than 20,000 Italians visiting Oman. This is very significant, compared to last year. So my impression is that more and more Italians are looking forward to visiting this beautiful country.

Any events lined up for 2023?

We have our National Day coming up in June, and in October we celebrate our language week where we propagate several courses of the Italian language. In November, we will have Italian Cuisine Week on the theme Wellness With Good Taste.