There are up to 10,000

Italians , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...

in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

, approximately two-thirds of whom are in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...

, and the rest in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dha ...

. The UAE in recent years has attained the status of a favourite destination for Italian immigrants, with the rate of Italians moving into the country having increased by forty percent between 2005 and 2007.

Relations

Italians make up one of the largest European groups in the UAE. In September 2007, after being awarded the Italian Stella Re prize, the UAE minister for economy Sheikha Lubna Khalid Al Qasimi described the interest of the UAE government in boosting cultural and economic ties with

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

: "With thousands of expatriate Italians living in the UAE, our governments are continuing to actively promote bilateral investments and increase the opportunities for further cooperation between our two countries."

Social life

The community is structured through numerous social circles and organisations such as the Italian Cultural and Recreational Circle (now known as "Cicer"), the Italian Industry and Commerce Office (UAE) and the Italian Business Council Dubai. Social activities like outdoor excursions, gastronomy evenings, language courses, activities for children, exhibitions and concerts are frequent; there have been talks of setting up a permanent Italian cultural centre in Abu Dhabi which would act as a venue for activities.

Italian cuisine Italian cuisine (, ) is a Mediterranean cuisine#CITEREFDavid1988, David 1988, Introduction, pp.101–103 consisting of the ingredients, recipes and List of cooking techniques, cooking techniques developed across the Italian Peninsula and late ...

, culture, and fashion are widespread throughout Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with a large number of native Italians running restaurants. In 2008, the Italian embassy in Abu Dhabi arranged an exhibition of the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

trophy (won by Italy) to celebrate

Festa della Repubblica ''Festa della Repubblica'' (; English: ''Republic Day'') is the Italian National Day and Republic Day, which is celebrated on 2 June each year, with the main celebration taking place in Rome. The ''Festa della Repubblica'' is one of the national ...

, the national day of Italy; the rare reception was organised in the Emirates Palace hotel.

References

External links

Italian Industry and Commerce Office (United Arab Emirates)

Italian Business Council Dubai & Northern Emirates
{{Immigration to the United Arab Emirates

Relations

Social life

See also

References

External links