On September 5, Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, held a meeting with Giorgia Meloni, President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic, in Rome.
A guard of honor was arranged for President Ilham Aliyev at the Chigi Palace in Rome.
Giorgia Meloni, President of the Council of Ministers of Italy, welcomed Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan.
President Ilham Aliyev and President of the Council of Ministers Giorgia Meloni reviewed the guard of honor.
The Italian delegation was introduced to President Ilham Aliyev, while the Azerbaijani delegation was introduced to President of the Council of Ministers Giorgia Meloni.
They then posed for photographs together.
President Ilham Aliyev and President of the Council of Ministers Giorgia Meloni first held a one-on-one meeting, which later expanded to include delegations from both sides.
Giorgia Meloni described President Ilham Aliyev's visit to Italy as highly productive, highlighting detailed discussions on Italy-Azerbaijan bilateral relations agenda and identifying new areas of cooperation. The focus was on expanding economic and trade relations, particularly in the fields of industry and energy, along with deepening collaboration in humanitarian and cultural spheres. The Italy-Azerbaijan University project, a partnership between ADA University and Italian universities, was also noted as significant in fostering humanitarian and cultural ties.
They hailed the bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, particularly the importance of the TAP project, which plays a key role in ensuring the energy security of Italy and other European countries. They also exchanged views on the potential to increase TAP's transmission capacity.
President of the Italy’s Council of Ministers expressed gratitude for Azerbaijan’s humanitarian aid to Ukraine and acknowledged Azerbaijan's role in this regard. She thanked President Ilham Aliyev for the invitation to COP29 and emphasized her intention to participate in the event. Giorgia Meloni assured that Italy is ready to provide all necessary support for the successful organization of COP29 in Azerbaijan. She noted that Italy’s climate change representative is working closely with Azerbaijan’s COP delegation, and mentioned participation of Azerbaijan’s COP29 President-Designate in the G7 meeting of environment ministers in Italy.
The discussion also covered the identification of new areas of cooperation between Italy’s Eni S.p.A and SOCAR, as well as the possibility of their joint projects in third countries.
They touched upon participation of Azerbaijan and Italy in joint investment projects in third countries. They highlighted the importance of the Middle Corridor, and discussed the prospects for Italian companies to utilize this corridor.
They addressed the role of the Italy-Azerbaijan economic cooperation commission, and agreed to hold the next meeting of the commission next year.
President Ilham Aliyev invited Giorgia Meloni to make an official visit to Azerbaijan, and she accepted the invitation with pleasure.
