ECONOMY
Azerbaijan-Italy intergovernmental commission convenes meeting in Baku
Baku, December 17 (AZERTAC).The third meeting of the Azerbaijan-Italy intergovernmental commission on the economic cooperation is underway here.
The meeting is attended by the Azerbaijani and Italian members of the commission, representatives of the Ministries and governmental bodies.
The Italian side was represented by 17 employees of the ministries led by Deputy Foreign Minister Marta Dassu and 14 Azerbaijani officials by Minister of Energy Natig Aliyev.
On the agenda were 11 issues including realization of the decisions of the 2nd meeting of the commission, on trade and economic cooperation in agriculture, transport, education, health and energy.
The representatives of the Azerbaijani side of the commission underlined the high-level bilateral ties between the two countries, presence of ample opportunities for expanding cooperation in the energy and other sectors. The Azerbaijan-Italy business forum was organized by the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) with assistance of the Ministry of Economy and Industry on November 13, 2013. The business forum was attended by representatives from both countries operating in the construction, consulting, finance, ICT, energy, infrastructure, architecture, design etc. A memorandum on understanding on cooperation was signed between AZPROMO and the ICE-Italian Trade Promotion Agency during the forum.
The Italian representatives noted that there are good opportunities for taking cooperation between the two countries forward. The total amount of Italy`s investments amounts to $47.9m in the oil sector and $65.6m in the non-oil sector. There are 45 Italian companies operating in the insurance, banking, trade and other sectors.
It was noted that the choice of the Trans Adriatic pipeline (TAP) is of great importance for cultivating ties between Azerbaijan and Italy and ensuring energy security of Europe. The TAP will transport the Azerbaijani gas from Turkey to the South Europe through Greece and Albania.
The protocol on the outcome of discussions was signed at the meeting.
