Kuwait and Italy signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and a Letter of Intent and initialed a second MoU on Friday, covering direct investment promotion, defense and military and industrial cooperation.

His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and visiting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attended the ceremony.

The first MoU covers cooperation on promoting direct investment between the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA) and the Italian Trade Agency. KDIPA Director General Sheikh Dr. Meshal Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah signed for the Kuwaiti government, and the agency’s President Matteo Zoppas signed for Italy.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense and Italian company Leonardo signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) on developing defense capabilities and industrial cooperation, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.

Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defense Sheikh Dr. Abdullah Meshal Mubarak Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah signed for the Kuwaiti government, and Leonardo’s Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Lorenzo Mariani signed for the company.

Leonardo is an international industrial group that develops multi-domain technological capabilities for global security. A key player in the major strategic programmes in Aerospace, Defence and Security, it employs over 62,000 people worldwide and operates in the Electronics, Helicopters, Aircraft, Cyber & Security and Space sectors.

The second MoU covers military cooperation on advisory services and training between the Kuwait National Guard and Italy’s Carabinieri, a gendarmerie force under the Italian Ministry of Defense. Undersecretary of the Kuwait National Guard Lieutenant General Hamad Salem Al-Barjas initialed it for the National Guard, and Italy’s Ambassador to Kuwait Lorenzo Morini initialed it for the Carabinieri.