Baku: Italy was one of the main destinations for Azerbaijan's foreign direct investments abroad in the first six months of 2026, Samir Nasirov, Director of the Statistics Department of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, said at a briefing dedicated to the presentation of the balance of payments, APA-Economics reports.

According to Azeri-Press News Agency, during the reporting period, the volume of Azerbaijan's foreign direct investments abroad amounted to approximately $5 billion. The CBA official noted that Italy, Trkiye, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and Georgia were among the top five destinations for direct investments abroad.

Samir Nasirov highlighted that the main part of these investments was directed to Italy, with Azerbaijan investing approximately $3 billion in Italy's energy sector. Notably, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) acquired a 99.82% stake in the Italian energy company Italiana Petroli (IP).

The CBA official added that such investments are expected to become one of the main sources generating income in Azerbaijan's primary income balance in future periods.