Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s participation in the recent Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Bahrain marked more than a diplomatic courtesy call. It signaled a deliberate strategic pivot by Rome toward the Gulf and, more broadly, toward a reimagined Mediterranean role that bridges Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. In a speech rich with historical references and geopolitical ambition, Meloni framed Italy as a natural partner for the GCC-a country shaped by geography and history to engage across cultures without losing its own identity. Her message was clear: Italy sees the Gulf not as a peripheral region but as central to its future economic, political, and security calculus.

Meloni’s language was telling. She described the GCC as offering Italy a “historic opportunity,” while portraying her own country as a “nation with an ancient heart and forward-looking attitude.” This self-characterization was designed to resonate with Gulf leaders who often emphasize continuity between tradition and modernization. By stressing that Italy can interact and integrate with other cultures “yet never losing itself,” Meloni subtly aligned Italy’s national narrative with that of GCC states, which similarly balance rapid development with strong cultural identities.

At the core of her argument was geography. Italy, Meloni insisted, “could never conceive of itself without the Mediterranean.” Though the Mediterranean accounts for just 1 percent of the world’s waters, it carries around 20 percent of global maritime traffic, largely due to the Suez Canal. This simple statistic underpinned a larger strategic vision: the Mediterranean and the Gulf are not merely regional seas but interconnected hubs of global trade, energy flows, and security dynamics. Together, they enclose four of the world’s most critical chokepoints-the Strait of Hormuz, Bab al-Mandab, the Suez Canal, and the Strait of Gibraltar-giving them an outsized influence on international stability and commerce.

Meloni reinforced this vision with a historical narrative that challenged modern assumptions about rigid civilizational boundaries. She invoked the Limes Arabicus, the frontier between the Roman Empire and the Arabian Peninsula, arguing that it functioned less as a hard border and more as a zone of transit, communication, and trade. This interpretation allowed her to present Italy–Arab relations not as a modern diplomatic convenience but as the........

© Blitz