President Aliyev: Italy is Azerbaijan’s number one global trading partner

Italy is Azerbaijan’s number one trading partner in the world, President Ilham Aliyev as he addressed the session titled “Azerbaijan's role in the new geopolitical environment” at the International Cernobbio Forum, News.Az reports.

The head of state recalled that last year, Azerbaijan-Italy trade turnover was close to 16 billion US dollars. “We see potential for growth not only in the energy sector but also in other sectors.”

“Azerbaijan is Italy’s number one oil supplier and number two gas supplier. This is also an important part of our cooperation,” President Aliyev added.

He emphasized that Italy and Azerbaijan have already work as strategic partners for many years and the corresponding declaration was adopted almost ten years ago.

“Our cooperation covers many areas, we have regular political contacts. This is my third visit to Italy since 2020, and President Mattarella paid a visit to Azerbaijan in 2018. High-level contacts demonstrate that we are very close partners,” the Azerbaijani leader said.

President Aliyev also underscored the great importance of the Italy-Azerbaijan University. “The Italy-Azerbaijan University, which has already started functioning, is a great example of the diversification of our cooperation,” he said.

The head of state pointed out that five leading Italian universities have created this joint venture with Azerbaijan’s ADA University, which will be instrumental in future cooperation.

“The students who are already studying and those who will study there will naturally be connected to Italy. They will know the Italian language, they will know better Italian culture and the great historical heritage of the Italian people,” President Aliyev added.

News.Az