Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 23
Trend:
Azerbaijan and Italy's Leonardo S.p.A. (formerly Finmeccanica) will sign an agreement on cooperation in the defense industry February 23, Italian Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda told reporters on the sidelines of the Azerbaijan-Italy business forum in Baku Feb. 23.
The minister said that the representatives of four big Italian companies, willing to invest in Azerbaijan, are in the country today.
He added that 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).
Calenda called energy and supply of Italian products to Azerbaijan as other areas of cooperation.
Italy is one of the main economic and trade partners of Azerbaijan. Italy’s investments in Azerbaijani economy amounted to about $500 million.
Azerbaijan and Italy have recently intensified cooperation. Baku Steel Company and Italy’s Danieli signed an agreement on the construction of a metallurgical complex in Azerbaijani city of Sumgayit in late 2016. Investments in the complex will exceed $1.2 billion.
According to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee, 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.