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By Trend

By his visit to Italy, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev demonstrated the ability to pursue an independent policy for the development of friendly relations with the EU countries as well, famous Ukrainian economist, expert Alexander Okhrimenko told Trend.

The expert noted that the state visit by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Italy is a landmark event for both Azerbaijan and Italy.

“This will allow us to build another vector of European-Azerbaijani cooperation, pave a new route from Asia to Europe,” Okhrimenko added. “For Italian business, economic cooperation with Azerbaijan is beneficial, as oil supplies and diversification of their sources and routes are extremely important for this country. At the same time, Azerbaijan’s economic cooperation with Italy is a stable guaranteed income and the opportunity to develop new areas of business, such as agriculture, chemical industry and machine engineering.”

“It is noteworthy that during his visit, President Ilham Aliyev met with representatives of Italian business, where they got the opportunity to learn directly from the leader of Azerbaijan what economic prospects open for them in his country and what ways of cooperation are possible to implement business plans,” said the Ukrainian expert.

In addition, Azerbaijan is the reliable and biggest supplier of oil for Italy, Okhrimenko added.

“Italy accounts for 17 percent of Azerbaijani crude oil,” said the expert. “If we include gas contracts, it becomes obvious that Europe, in particular Italy, sees Azerbaijan as a reliable partner, since it trusts its energy security to Baku.”

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, as part of his state visit to Italy, held official meetings with Italian President Sergio Mattarella - one on one and in expanded format.

Azerbaijan and Italy signed 17 documents aimed at expanding bilateral cooperation in various fields. In particular, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and President of the Italian Council of Ministers Giuseppe Conte signed the Joint Declaration on Strengthening Multidimensional Strategic Partnership between Azerbaijan and Italy.

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