Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22
Trend:
Azerbaijani Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev received Italian Deputy Minister for Economic Development Andrea Cioffi, who is on a visit to Azerbaijan, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy.
Mustafayev stressed the successful continuation of cooperation between the two countries.
Speaking about bilateral economic relations, the Azerbaijani minister stressed that Italy is Azerbaijan’s main trade partner and ranks first in export.
“So, the trade turnover between the two countries increased by 10 percent and amounted to $6.2 billion in 2018,” he said.
“Italy is involved in twinning projects which are being implemented in Azerbaijan within the cooperation with the EU,” he said. “Italian companies are successfully operating in Azerbaijan. A few days ago, the opening ceremony of SOCAR-Polymer plant was held, the contractor of which is the Italian company Maire Tecnimont.”
“The participation of the presidents of both countries at the opening ceremony of the first phase of this plant in 2018 testifies to the importance attached to the development of bilateral ties,” Mustafayev said.
“Presently, the work is underway on a new draft agreement on the promotion and protection of investments between Azerbaijan and Italy, on a joint action plan, envisaging the expansion of cooperation in various sectors of the economy,” he said.
Mustafayev stressed that Azerbaijan is interested in expansion of ties with Italy in the non-oil sector.
He also pointed to the possibility of expanding cooperation in the fields of energy, infrastructure, transport, ICT, tourism, agriculture, winemaking and other spheres.
Azerbaijani economy minister invited Italian businessmen to take advantage of favorable working conditions in Azerbaijan and establish joint ventures in industrial parks in the fields of engineering, household appliances, light industry and pharmaceutics.
In turn, Cioffi stressed that Italian companies are interested in participation in the projects in various economic sectors in Azerbaijan.