Italian President confers highest honour on UAE economy minister

Abu Dhabi, Dec 9, 2009 (WAM) - Italian President Giorgio Napolitano has conferred Economy Minister of the UAE Sultan Saeed Al-Mansouri with the Order of The Stella della Solidarieta Italiana order (the Star of Italian Solidarity), the highest Italian order of merit, in recognition of his efforts to furthering relations between the UAE and Italy.
The Stella della Solidarieta Italiana is conferred to outstanding figures upon a special decree by the President of Italy.
Italian Ambassador to UAE Paolo Dionisi and visiting Minister of Economic Development Claudio Scajola presented Al-Mansouri with the order and a certificate of appreciation at a special ceremony.
Scajola is leading a high level delegation on a current visit to the UAE.
In a speech, Al-Mansouri said the honour is a message of love, appreciation and friendship from the President, government and people of Italy to the UAE's leadership and people and expresses Italy's desire to further promote and strengthen UAE-Italy relations, friendship and partnership to the highest levels.
For his part, Scajola said the honour was conferred to Al-Mansouri in appreciation of his outstanding initiatives and efforts in further boosting economic and trade relations between the two countries.