Mr Luigi Di Maio has taken up his mandate as the first EU Special Representative for the Gulf region in June 2023 dedicated to strengthening the Union's strategic partnership with the Gulf countries. This includes deepening of the political, security, economic, energy, climate and people-to-people cooperation, as well as supporting diplomatic efforts in order to contribute to de-escalation and addressing regional security challenges. Previously, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy from September 2019 to October 2022. From June 2018 to September 2019 he held the positions of Deputy Prime Minister of Italy, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Minister of Labour and Social Policies. In 2022 he was President of the of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly. During his mandate as Foreign Minister he chaired, among others, the G20 Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting, the G20 Trade Ministers meeting, the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Afghanistan, the June 2021 plenary Ministerial Meeting of the International Anti-Daesh Coalition, as well as the first Mediterranean Ministerial Dialogue on the Food Security Crisis in June 2022.