Kuwait is willing to extend the price cap that Q8 has applied to gasoline and diesel at its Italian service stations, Italian government sources said on Friday after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in Kuwait City.
The sources at Palazzo Chigi, the Italian prime minister’s office, described the emir’s position as “a concrete signal of the solidity of relations between Italy and Kuwait,” ANSA reported. They did not give the level of the cap or the length of any extension.
Q8 Italia, the Italian unit of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp., said on September 29 it would apply a price cap on gasoline and diesel for 30 days from October 1, responding to a request from the Italian government to contain energy costs. The company operates about 2,900 service stations across Italy.
During the visit, the two countries signed two memorandums of understanding and a letter of intent, Times Kuwait reported, in the presence of Kuwait’s Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and Meloni.
The Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority and the Italian Trade Agency signed a memorandum on promoting direct investment. It was signed by Sheikh Dr. Meshal Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, director general of the Kuwaiti authority, and Matteo Zoppas, president of the Italian agency.
Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense and Italian defense group Leonardo signed a letter of intent on developing defense capabilities and industrial cooperation, signed for Leonardo by Chief Executive Officer Lorenzo Mariani. A second memorandum covers advisory and training cooperation between the Kuwait National Guard and Italy’s Carabinieri.
The two governments also adopted an Italy-Kuwait action plan for 2027 to 2030 on strengthening bilateral cooperation, according to the Italian government.
Kuwaiti investments in Italy span tourism, real estate, high technology and energy, the Italian prime minister’s office said in a statement before the visit, citing Q8’s distribution network and its investments in refining and biofuels production, including in partnership with Eni.
