Italy signs a one-billion-euro renewable energy agreement with the United Arab Emirates and Albania. But it has yet to give up on gas.
On 15 January 2025, Italy, Albania and the United Arab Emirates signed an agreement in Abu Dhabi for a strategic partnership framework aimed at strengthening cooperation in the renewable energy and strategic infrastructure sectors. The deal was signed by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed.
According to an official statement from Palazzo Chigi, the agreement provides for the development of "large-scale renewable energy projects in Albania", with particular focus on photovoltaic, wind and hybrid solutions with battery storage capacity. A significant portion of this renewable energy, the statement reads, will be directed to the Italian market. The partnership also includes the construction of a cross-border electricity interconnection between Albania and Italy.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama stated that the agreement with Rome and Abu Dhabi is worth approximately one billion euros. Although the precise details of the commitments have yet to be disclosed, the strategy announced by President Meloni is to transform Italy into a bridge between Africa and the Middle East for the development of renewable energy infrastructure.
But a degree of scepticism remains. What, in fact, is the real energy strategy of the Italian government, which on one hand forges agreements for new clean energy plants with Persian Gulf countries, and on the other plans to triple its regasification capacity by 2026, in the face of a significant decline in gas demand and consumption: Italy's gas consumption fell by 19 per cent between 2021 and 2024, while LNG (liquefied natural gas) imports dropped by 12 per cent in 2024. Not to mention the Meloni-Trump relationship: perhaps to appease a powerful ally, Italy does not openly contradict the Trumpian rhetoric of drill, baby drill, and through Eni, Italy is still searching for new fossil fuel deposits to exploit, striking deals with major gas exporters such as Algeria and Azerbaijan.
Now, however, the agreement with the Gulf countries (President Meloni also visited Saudi Arabia and Bahrain) perhaps signals an attempt by Italy to position itself strategically on the international geopolitical stage alongside those who – despite still being petrostates – are acknowledging that the era of oil and gas is drawing to a close.
The Gulf countries, though still heavily dependent on gas and oil, have begun a process of repositioning within the global context, increasingly focusing on the energy transition. The United Arab Emirates, for example, hosted COP28 and have become among the leading backers of the renewable energy agency in Africa, APRA. "Throughout all of this, Italy has understood how necessary it is to invest in cooperation," Silvia Francescon, senior foreign policy expert at think tank Ecco, explains to LifeGate. According to Francescon, this strategy is part of a broader vision of an "extended Mediterranean", which the Italian government intends to stretch as far as India, framing it instead as a "global Mediterranean" and incorporating these closer ties with Gulf countries into a broader Piano Mattei, which envisages the use of funds to carry out projects, but whose operational capacity depends largely on financial resources – resources that the Arab rulers possess in abundance. "Despite some still-conservative behaviour, the Gulf countries are progressively taking on a central role in energy transition matters, in which they wish to become key players," she adds.
For the expert, it becomes at this point essential to involve these countries, especially for Italy, which has long invested in cooperation through Eni's deposits and commercial ties with these states. "A privileged relationship with these countries could truly help consolidate our role as an energy hub," Francescon observes. "After all, being recognised by these Gulf countries carries a clear geopolitical intent."
In the future, the United States under Donald Trump could benefit from domestic oil and gas at lower costs, while Europe – and Italy along with it – aims to strengthen its energy independence. To achieve this goal, renewable sources are an indispensable piece of the puzzle. However, the question of human rights remains open – an aspect that Italy has already shown it is willing to place on the back burner, as in the case of the agreement with Albania on the management of migration flows. Now, this renewable energy deal is added to the mix: the Balkan country will supply clean energy to Italy, but the terms of exchange are not yet entirely clear. "Behind every plant, even a renewable one, there is always a network of geopolitical relationships," Francescon points out.
While the tripartite agreement will require close monitoring, a positive development can be glimpsed: "The strategy of locating plants in third countries, such as Albania or Algeria, can contribute to the economic stability of those states," Francescon observes. "If, for example, Algeria were to use renewables to power its own manufacturing sector, it could strengthen the diversification of its economy, reducing its structural vulnerabilities."
Cooperation with the Gulf countries thus emerges as a strategic move to address the future challenges of the energy sector, but it remains crucial to keep a close watch on the respect for human rights that accompanies these decisions – an aspect that, for now, still raises many unanswered questions.