Azerbaijani President receives delegation led by Italian defence minister PHOTO

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by Minister of Defense of the Republic of Italy Guido Crosetto.

The delegation also included Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy Edmondo Cirielli, Caliber.Az reports citing the local media.

Noting that today marks a milestone in the history of Azerbaijan-Italy relations, President Ilham Aliyev mentioned that a new chapter has been opened in bilateral relations and the two countries have already embarked on military-technical cooperation.

Emphasizing that Italy has a highly developed military-technical industry, the head of state described the delivery of the "C-27J Spartan" military transport aircraft to Azerbaijan as an indicator of the high level of relations between the two countries.

President Ilham Aliyev said that Italy and Azerbaijan maintain strategic partnership in many fields, noting that Italy accounts for most of Azerbaijan's trade relations in Europe and the trade turnover between the two countries exceeds 15 billion dollars. The head of state hailed the fact that many Italian companies are successfully operating in Azerbaijan and participating in several projects.

Underlining that the cooperation between Azerbaijan and Italy in the field of oil and gas is important not only for the two countries but for the entire Europe, President Aliyev emphasized that strong political relations lie at the heart of its development, and said that the Joint Declaration "on strategic partnership between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Italy" forms the basis of these relations.

The head of state underscored that the two countries maintain close contact regarding preparations for COP29 to be hosted by Azerbaijan this year.

President Aliyev said that the cooperation between the two countries also covers other areas, touching upon the relations in the field of education. The President noted that the Italy-Azerbaijan University has actually started to operate, adding that the construction of a new modern building and educational complex for this university is currently underway.

President Aliyev expressed his confidence that relations between the two countries would continue to expand.

Expressing his gratitude for the reception, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto conveyed his congratulations to the head of state on the occasion of 26 June - the Armed Forces Day.

Minister Guido Crosetto recalled his previous meeting with the President of Azerbaijan.

Noting the importance of visiting Azerbaijan with a large delegation and the presence of Italy's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Edmondo Cirielli, Minister Guido Crosetto hailed the fact that the two countries have embarked on cooperation in the field of defense industry.