EU Representative Di Maio and JCU President Pavoncello
During the event, EU Special Representative (EUSR) for the Gulf Region, Luigi Di Maio discussed the relevance of the diplomatic cooperation between the European Union and Gulf countries in the current geopolitical scenario, touching on various relevant issues, including cooperation in the fields of trade, energy, and security. The role of Gulf States as strategic partners for the EU was emphasized, and issues of economic, environmental and various other forms of cooperation with Gulf countries in bilateral settings were discussed.
The event was held under Chatham House rules, so that following Di Maio’s keynote speech, a Q&A session was held, fostering an open discussion with the audience and opened by remarks by Italian Ambassador Armando Varricchio, recently appointed Inaugural Guarini Senior Fellow in Transatlantic Relations.
Di Maio was appointed European Union Special Representative for the Gulf region in June 2023. In the early days of his political career, he served as the youngest-ever Vice President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies (2013-2018), was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development, Labor, and Social Policies (2018 to 2019), and subsequently served as Italy’s Minister of Foreign Affairs (2019 to 2022).
