Rome, Dec 1 (IANS/AKI): Italy's Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi on Friday summoned Egypt's ambassador Hisham Badr to the foreign ministry in Rome over the unsolved case of PhD student Giulio Regeni's 2016 murder, telling him Italy wants to see "concrete developments" in the ongoing investigation.

Moavero asked Badr "to urge Egypt's authorities to act rapidly on their commitment, expressed at the highest political level, to ensure justice over the barbaric murder of Giulio Regeni," said the foreign ministry.

The case had caused "deep disquiet" in Italy, the foreign ministry stated.

"Having received assurances by the Egyptian ambassador that the will exists to continue cooperation between the two public prosecutors' offices, Minister Moavero said Italy needed to concrete developments," the statement said.

During the meeting, Moavero reaffirmed that bringing to justice those responsible for Regeni's abduction and murder remain "a priority" for Italy's institutions, the statement noted.

Badr said the Egyptian government's desire to shed light on the case was "unquestionable".

Regeni, 28, was abducted in Cairo on 25 January 2016 and tortured to death. His mutilated body was found in a ditch on the outskirts of Cairo nine days later.

The murder strained relations between the two countries as Rome in March 2016 recalled its ambassador over Cairo's failure to cooperate in the investigation. Ties were restored 15 months later when Italy sent a new envoy.

Regeni had been doing postgraduate research into Egyptian trade unions before his death and there was widespread suspicion among western diplomats and in the Italian press that Egypt's security forces were behind his slaying -- a belief shared by Regeni's family and activists.

The Egyptian government denies any state involvement in Regeni's murder and Egypt's president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has vowed to bring his killers to justice.