Italian PM begins visit to Saudi Arabia on Gulf tour

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni began a surprise visit to Saudi Arabia on Friday as part of a Gulf tour.

Italian government source said that the aims of the visit was to boost national energy security as well as to strengthen relations with these countries. It was known that Meloni would meet officials from Saudi Arabia, as well as from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, though it was not immediately clear if she would also visit those two countries.