Following official visits in the past two months to Latin America, Eritrea and Russia, Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani travelled to Italy on 27 January. He met senior figures from business and politics including President Sergio Mattarella (who said Italy welcomed Qatar’s hosting of the FIFA 2022 World Cup), Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Eni chief executive Claudio Descalzi. On 29 January, Tamim left for Bosnia and Herzegovina for meetings with President Dragan Covic, Prime Minister Denis Zvizdi and House of Representatives speaker Borjana Kristo.