Giorgia Meloni arrives in Qatar after a stop in Riyadh

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived in Doha on Saturday morning for an official visit to Qatar, the Qatar News Agency reported.

Meloni and her accompanying delegation were welcomed at Doha International Airport by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh al-Khulaifi.

Italy imports hydrocarbons from Qatar, one of the world’s largest gas producers. Italian company Eni, which specializes in hydrocarbon extraction and transport, is also part of a consortium with QatarEnergy and France’s TotalEnergies for Lebanon’s offshore hydrocarbon project. Meloni was in Riyadh earlier in the week during a previous stop on her Gulf tour.

Qatar has been struck multiple times by Iran since the start of the regional war on Feb. 28, while Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has driven a sharp rise in global energy prices.