<a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/economy/2025/01/23/saudi-crown-prince-pledges-to-invest-more-than-600bn-in-us-in-call-with-trump/" target="_blank">Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman</a> and Italian Prime Minister <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/2024/10/17/giorgia-meloni-pushes-syria-returns-at-eu-leaders-meeting/" target="_blank">Giorgia Meloni </a>signed an agreement on Sunday to establish the Saudi-Italian Strategic Partnership Council, strengthening ties between the nations, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The agreement was signed during Ms Meloni’s visit to the Unesco World Heritage site of AlUla, where she was welcomed by the Crown Prince and senior Saudi officials. During their meeting at Bayt Al-Sha'ar, the leaders discussed ways to enhance bilateral relations, including co-operation across various sectors, and reviewed regional and international developments. “The Crown Prince and the Prime Minister of Italy reviewed bilateral relations, explored ways to support and strengthen them across various fields, and discussed regional and international developments of mutual interest,” SPA reported. Ms Meloni arrived in Jeddah on Saturday, where she greeted the crew of an Italian ship before travelling to AlUla. The meeting was attended by senior Saudi officials, including the Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi ambassador to Italy Prince Faisal bin Sattam, and Minister of State Prince Turki bin Mohammed. The Italian delegation included ambassador Carlo Baldocci, diplomatic adviser Fabrizio Saggio and military adviser Gen Franco Federici. Ms Meloni’s visit follows a recent trip by Italy’s Environment and Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto to Riyadh, where he signed an agreement on energy transition and security co-operation. After her visit to <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/economy/2025/01/06/saudi-arabias-pif-raises-7bn-from-first-murabaha-facility-as-it-seeks-to-boost-investments/" target="_blank">Saudi Arabia</a>, Ms Meloni will travel to Bahrain for the first time as Prime Minister. She is expected to have talks with King Hamad.