However, the chairman of the Italian parliament's agriculture committee, Sergio Agoni, said it was "scandalous that Robert Mugabe should be coming to speak about food at a time when his compatriots are dying in the streets for lack of foodstuffs and human rights."
Mugabe also enjoys immunity for visits to the Vatican; earlier this year, he exploited to the full his attendance at the funeral of the late Pope John Paul II.
Placed close to the Prince of Wales, he leaned over and shook the prince's hand during the service. The prince's household said afterwards that he had been taken by surprise.
RSS