Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s longest-serving prime minister, died on Monday. He was 86.
Mr Berlusconi was admitted to the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan on Friday, his second hospital admission in months for treatment of chronic leukaemia. He also suffered over the years from heart ailments, prostate cancer and Covid-19 in 2020.
He was a charismatic statesman who sought to elevate Italy on the world stage and he forged relationships with many leaders of the Arab world.
His first visit to the region took place during his second term in office when he embarked on a regional tour of Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan, in 2002.
He would later visit Libya in 2008, where he signed a historic co-operation treaty with the late Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi in Benghazi. Rome pledged to pay $5 billion to Libya as compensation for its former military occupation.
Mr Berlusconi caused an outcry in the Muslim world in October 2002 when he said the West “should be conscious of the superiority of our civilisation.”
He said while the West has a value system “that has given people widespread prosperity in those countries that embrace it, and guarantees respect for human rights and religion … This respect certainly does not exist in the Islamic countries.”
During his time in office, Mr Berlusconi paid a two-day visit to Jeddah in November 2009 when he met the late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. During the visit, he described Saudi Arabia as an “important force for stability in the region”.
Mr Berlusconi also forged a strong relationship with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and was one of the early supporters of Turkey's application to join the EU.
When it came to the Israeli-Palestinian issue, Mr Berlusconi was a staunch supporter of Israel and endorsed Israel's plan for a demilitarised Palestinian state as a solution to the decades-old Middle East conflict.
