Political and media controversy over Renzi interviewing the prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman. The words of the former premier and the comments
Political and media controversy about Renzi interviewing the prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman.
Here are facts and comments.
In Saudi Arabia there are the conditions for it to be the cradle of a “neo-renaissance”.
And what said the former premier and leader of Italia Viva, Matteo Renzi, talking with the heir to the Saudi throne, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in the panel ‘The future of Riyadh’ of the Future Investment Initiative (Fii), the initiative – renamed the ‘Davos of the desert’ – which closes today in Riyadh.
+++ Renzi, the interview with the Saudi prince: celebrate the regime, here is the video +++
While @ItaliaViva goes to consultations, the Saudis transmit Renzi’s interview (let’s call it that) to Prince Bin Salman @emifittipaldi
https://t.co/oR5vMWxPRe
– Stefano Feltri (@StefanoFeltri) January 28, 2021
Recalling how the Renaissance is born in Florence just after “the plague, a pandemic”, Renzi – who recalled being the mayor of the Tuscan capital – underlined the key role played at that time by “cities, not countries”, drawing a parallel with the ambitious plan for Mohammed bin Salman’s Riyadh, which focuses on the capital to guide the country’s economic transformation.
When the world talks about Saudi Arabia, Renzi said in English, its important role as “playmaker in the region is recognized, but many people ignore the great efforts in developing cities, starting with Riyadh”.
During the dialogue, during which Renzi asked Mbs several questions about the future of the kingdom and its capital, the leader of Italia Viva highlighted the great investment projects of the Gulf kingdom in the field of education and sustainability, to starting with the creation of King Salman Park, ‘which will be three times bigger than Central Park ”.
Referring therefore to the declarations of MBS on the low cost of labor in Riyadh, Renzi laughed and replied “as an Italian I am very envious” and indicated “the great possibilities for Saudi young people in the field of education” in the next 10 years.
“If I think of the neo-renaissance, I think of a moment in which we invest not only in finance but in education – continued Renzi, returning to the topic of the debate – In Florence and in other cities, the renaissance was born from the union of a great availability of money and large investments in education. It is important to invest in artificial intelligence, but also in human intelligence and the skills of young people ”
Then, commenting on the figures of investments planned in Saudi Arabia, exceeding one trillion dollars, Renzi spoke of “incredible numbers compared to the Italian public debt”, adding how politics today must be able to combine together “tradition and innovation, past and future. “.
“I think that with your leadership and that of King Salman the kingdom can play a crucial role and for me as a former mayor it is very nice to understand the role of cities in this project,” said Renzi, according to whom Saudi Arabia can be “absolutely important not only in the Middle East”.
Finally, the former premier thanked Mbs for the role played by Saudi Arabia as president of the G20, a role occupied this year by Italy, indicating the goal of “working for peace and prosperity in the world”.
+++ LAURA CAPPON’S TWEETS: “Short journalist roaming the Middle East. 4 years in Cairo. Tv reporter at Half an hour more (Rai3) ”, as per Twitter profile
The joke about work in Saudi Arabia is serious. In the Gulf countries the Kafala system exists and it works like this: a worker has to join a “sponsor” (kafeel in Arabic) that is an employment agency, a company or directly a citizen.
– Laura Cappon (@lacappon) January 28, 2021
3 / last November in Saudi Arabia there was a relaxation of this system. Now migrant workers (there are 10 million) can leave the country without asking the permission of the employer. Just to give you an idea, because before their passports were seized
– Laura Cappon (@lacappon) January 28, 2021
5 / remember that in Saudi Arabia for about 6 months of the year it is 50 degrees. They build the country’s great infrastructure for a few dollars an hour
– Laura Cappon (@lacappon) January 28, 2021
7 / anyone with common sense and an average awareness of where they are would have avoided saying such nonsense. Especially a person who holds a political post.
– Laura Cappon (@lacappon) January 28, 2021
Laura Cappon was also a correspondent for Petrolio, an in-depth program broadcast on Rai 2. Graduated in Oriental Languages and Cultures at the University of Bologna, she began working in the local news during her university period. In 2011, for 4 years, she moved to Egypt and followed the years of the Egyptian post-revolution for various Italian and international newspapers. You have also worked in Iraq, Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon, Qatar and Ukraine. You collaborate or have collaborated, among others, with the reports of Gad Lerner on Rai 3, Skytg 24, Il Fatto Quotidiano, Al Jazeera English, The New Arab, the Swiss Italian Radio Television and Radio Popolare.
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Source: La Verita pic.twitter.com/3hMglZSG5g
– Michele Arnese (@Michele_Arnese) January 29, 2021
+++ EXTRACT FROM A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE THE REPUBLIC ON RENZI AND SAUDI ARABIA:
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in the midst of the crisis In his capacity as lecturer, he participated in the panel “The future of Riyadh” in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was a meeting that was held as part of an event – “The Davos of the desert”, where Davos is the Swiss city where the world economic forum is held – organized by the Future Investment Initiative (Fii), a Saudi foundation in which board Renzi has been sitting for almost a year.
Renzi is paid (80 thousand euros a year) to sit on that board. The foundation was created by a decree of the Saudi king, Salman bin Abd al-Aziz Al Sau. And that somehow belongs to his son, Mohammad bin Salman.
Now, Renzi is the head of a party from another state. In Italy and senator, member of the Defense Today and Foreign Commission until a few months ago. You can legitimately collect money for your lecturing activity from a foundation headed by another state
+++ What Di Maio is doing with Mohammed bin Salman
