Country pushes broader cooperation with Italy
Energy-rich Azerbaijan is interested in cooperation with Italy, the largest trade partner of the country, in the fields of industry, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, ICT and tourism.
“We see a great potential in these areas [of the non-oil sector] and we want to bring them to the level of the political and energy cooperation,” said Niyazi Safarov.
Deputy Economy Minister of Azerbaijan Safarov named the priority directions in the bilateral economic cooperation at the Azerbaijani-Italian business forum in Baku on February 20.
The forum attended by representatives of about 20 Italian and 20 Azerbaijani companies considered opportunities of expanding the trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
“As you know, the tourism potential of Azerbaijan is increasing yearly. We also carry out serious work on industrialization. A very favorable environment, business climate was formed in Azerbaijan for foreign investors. We offer great preferences and investment promotion mechanism. And our countries enjoy great potential [for cooperation], which was also confirmed by the Italian side,” Safarov told reporters on the sidelines of the event.
Italian Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda, in turn, stressed that Azerbaijan and Italy's Leonardo S.p.A. (formerly Finmeccanica) will sign an agreement on cooperation in the defense industry sector.
The minister said that the representatives of four big Italian companies, willing to invest in Azerbaijan, are in the country today.
“Among those companies are the above-mentioned Leonardo S.p.A. (multinational aerospace, defense and security company), as well as Danieli & C.Officine Meccaniche SPA (multinational company designing, building and selling plants for the iron and steel industry worldwide), Ferrero SPA (manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products) and Telecom Italia Sparkle S.p.A. (global telecommunication service provider),” he said.
Calenda further said that the energy sector and supply of Italian products to Azerbaijan are the key areas of the cooperation.
“Italy is one of the main partners of Azerbaijan in the energy sector. The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project is of great importance for Italy. During the meetings in Baku, I will discuss the implementation of the project,” the minister said noting that the economic relations between Azerbaijan and Italy develop in three directions.
“The first direction is the development of cooperation in non-oil sector. The second direction - promotion of Italian goods. For this, there are great opportunities in your country. And the third is the development of cooperation in industrial sector, as well as in the field of metallurgy,” he clarified.
During his Baku visit, Calenda also attended the Third Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council.
Besides, he was received by President Ilham Aliyev, who praised high-level Azerbaijan-Italy cooperation in political, economic, energy, cultural and other fields, adding that the development of bilateral relations is being diversified.
Italy, being one of the main economic and trade partners of Azerbaijan, as so far invested over $0.5 billion in the Azerbaijani economy, mainly in the energy sector.
The two countries have stepped up cooperation in other areas as well. In late 2016, Baku Steel Company (Azerbaijan) and Danieli (Italy) have signed an agreement on the construction of a metallurgical complex in Sumgayit. The volume of investment would exceed $ 1.2 billion.
The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Italy amounted to nearly $1.9 billion in 2016, around 84 percent of which accounted for export of Azerbaijani goods to Italy, according to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee.