Baku: Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov engaged in a telephone conversation with Antonio Tajani, Italy's Vice-President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, to deliberate on the current state and prospective developments of the Azerbaijan-Italy strategic partnership.
According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, both ministers acknowledged the robust nature of the high-level political dialogue between their countries. They highlighted the significance of recent events such as the state visit of Italian President Sergio Mattarella to Azerbaijan last autumn, the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation meeting in January, and the visit of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to Azerbaijan in May. These events illustrate the strategic nature of the Azerbaijan-Italy relations and reflect the ongoing dynamic development of cooperation grounded in mutual trust.
The conversation underscored the necessity of maintaining political dialogue and mutual visits in the future, alongside expanding cooperation in various sectors such as trade, economy, energy, transport, industry, investment, and education. The Azerbaijan-Italy Business Forum, scheduled for this fall, is anticipated to be a significant platform for enhancing bilateral economic partnerships.
The ministers also discussed the upcoming conference organized in collaboration with 'The European House - Ambrosetti' in September, which aims to advance the economic and political dialogue between Azerbaijan and Italy.
Both parties praised the successful collaboration in the energy sector, highlighting the partnership between SOCAR and Italy's Italiana Petroli, including its acquisition, as a pivotal aspect of their bilateral economic relations. They also emphasized the importance of expanding mutually beneficial projects in the economic domain and exploring new cooperation opportunities.
The discussion concluded with an exchange of views on regional security matters, including the post-conflict peace agenda in the South Caucasus and the ongoing situation in the Middle East.