Italy and Qatar discussed greater cooperation in the energy field in light of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in a meeting at Doha on Sunday.
Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and his Qatari counterpart Mohammad bin Abdelrahman Al-Thani represented their countries in the meeting.
Saudi media reports said that “bilateral and regional issues” were also discussed, though energy was at “the core” of the meeting.
“We are taking action to strengthen our cooperation on energy with other countries,” Di Maio said in a statement to the Italian press after the meeting.
“Italy needs to increase its gas supplies in the short, medium and long term so that it can be independent from Russian gas supply so that we can protect Italian families and businesses.”
Qatar is the world’s third-largest supplier of natural gas after Russia and Algeria.
Di Maio also met with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani, and with Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi.
On Saturday, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi had a telephone conversation with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad Al-Thani.
The conversation focused on “the excellent bilateral partnership that continues to strengthen over the years, on collaboration in energy, and on the assessment of the crisis in Ukraine.”