Italy, Saudi Arabia ink partnership deals worth $10 billion

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy signed agreements worth around $10 billion with Saudi Arabia as part of a strengthened strategic partnership, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said after meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Among the deals, Italy's credit export agency SACE said it would provide loan guarantees worth 3 billion dollars for Saudi Arabia's NEOM real estate project. The deal had already been reported on in November.

NEOM, a Red Sea urban and industrial development that is due to house roughly nine million people, is central to bin Salman's Vision 2030 plan to create new sources of growth beyond oil.

After talks with the de facto Saudi ruler in the Saudi oasis city of Al-Ula on Sunday, Meloni cited infrastructure, energy, defence, sport, entertainment and tourism as areas where bilateral cooperation could become "stronger, more effective and deeper".

SACE also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Saudi Electricity Company to provide credit guarantees for green projects as well as engineering, procurement and construction activities.

Italian gas grid operator Snam signed a deal with ACWA Power to explore partnerships and joint investments on the supply of green hydrogen to Europe, while Italian defence group Leonardo signed an MoU to boost cooperation with Saudi partners in aerospace and defence.

Italian electrode maker Industrie De Nora said on Monday it inked an agreement with ACWA Power to study, develop and apply new solutions for water desalinisation.

De Nora also signed a deal with Saudi Water Authority, the government agency that regulates and oversees the water sector, to work on three pilot projects.

Meloni and bin Salman also discussed a "just and lasting peace in Ukraine", consolidating the ceasefire in Gaza, supporting post-war reconstruction efforts in Syria and helping Lebanon, Meloni's office said in a statement.

Speaking on Monday from Bahrain, Meloni said she backed Saudi Arabia joining the GCAP jet fighter programme, adding, however, that this would take some time.

(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro and Francesca Landini; editing by Hugh Lawson and Mark Heinrich)