Azernews.Az

By Trend

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev completed a two-day working visit to Italy, which can already be characterized as highly successful. In particular, the meetings held and statements made by the Head of state once again confirmed Azerbaijan's authority in the system of international relations. Under President Ilham Aliyev's leadership Azerbaijan is exploring new multilateral prospects and setting new priorities of cooperation. Far-sighted foreign policy strategy established by the Azerbaijani leader is the main factor contributing to Azerbaijan's assessment as a reliable partner.

The visit took place at the invitation of Italian president Sergio Mattarella and was timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The main item on the agenda of President Ilham Aliyev's visit to Italy was his participation in the 48th edition of the international Cernobbio Forum (Forum di Cernobbio, Italy), held annually by European House – Ambrosetti. This year the President Ilham Aliyev was present at this authoritative forum as the chief guest.

The main topic of the President Ilham Aliyev's speech, of course, was energy security and the role Azerbaiajn has played in this regard, especially in the last period. President stated that having diversified energy supplies to the global market, the country managed to change the energy map of Europe. He added that Azerbaijan plans to double gas exports to Europe and expand the geography of supplies. According to the Head of state, proven gas reserves of Azerbaijan amount to 2.6 trillion cubic meters. The country has been a reliable supplier for neighboring countries for over a decade, and after the launch of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the last link in the Southern Gas Corridor, Azerbaijan began exporting gas to Greece, Bulgaria and Italy. Europe has already received 13.5 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas, from the end of 2020, when TAP was launched, until today. Azerbaijan plans to increase the volume of exports and supply about 10 billion cubic meters of gas to the Italian market alone in 2022.

Italian economic and geopolitical analyst Domenico Letizia told Trend that cooperation between Azerbaijan and Italy in energy are will further expand.

"Azerbaijan has proved itself as a friendly and loyal country to Italy. In the current difficult global geopolitical situation Azerbaijan's natural resources supply helps solve problems in the energy area in Italy. I believe that cooperation with Azerbaijan's Baku should be further strengthened. Azerbaijan is not only a reliable supplier for Italy and Europe, but also maintains good relations with Rome and the entire EU. I have been to Azerbaijan four times and always noticed how Italy, its culture, fashion and music are treated here. Such a country deserves great attention from politicians and citizens of Italy," he said.

Domenico Letizia believes that cooperation between the two countries in the energy area will further expand.

"Italy and Azerbaijan are connected by the need to start serious economic and energy diversification. In addition to gas projects, numerous projects related to hydrogen can be implemented. Recently Italian authorities have been analyzing the possibility of using TAP also for hydrogen supplies, which would further strengthen energy cooperation. I think this is the right way, and I thank Baku for its support. Thanks to Azerbaijan, Italy can become an innovative energy hub aimed at economic and environmental sustainability," analyst stated.

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