During the visit President Heydar Aliyev met with the President of the Republic of Italy Mr. O. Scalfaro, the Prime Minister Mr. R. Prodi, the Chairman of the Senate Mr. N. Mancino, and the President of the Chamber of Deputies Mr. L. Violante. President Heydar Aliyev also had meetings with the mayors of Rome and Naples, with representatives of major Italian companies (ENI, Enel, Fata, Alenia) who were interested in engaging in business activities in Azerbaijan, and gave interviews to a number of local newspapers and information agencies, for example “Il Sole 24 Ore” and “La Repubblica”. During the visit the following documents on cooperation in different fields between the governments of Azerbaijan and Italy were signed:

After President Aliyev’s state visit, a number of high level visits and missions of Italian officials were realized in Azerbaijan: in June 1998 the visit of the Minister of Industry of Italy Mr. Bersani and in October 1998 the visit of the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Mr. Fassino, in April 1999 the visit of the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Mr. Martelli, in June 2000 the visit of the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Mr. Ranieri (President in turn of the Council of Europe), in May 2001 the mission of the Head of the Department of the European Countries of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr. Moreno, on June 2-5, 2002 the visit of the undersecretary of the Minister of Productive Activity Mr. Valduzzi and in July 2002 the visit of the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Mrs. Boniver, on December 8-10, 2002 the visit of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy Mr. Maroni (during the visit the protocol of intend for cooperation between the appropriative ministries of two countries was signed), on July 7-8, 2003 the visit of the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Mrs. Boniver, as a head of the Troika Ministerial Delegation of EU, on November 24-25, 2004 the visit of the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Boniver (during the visit the declaration of the establishment of the consultative group for bilateral economic relations was signed).

On March 17, 2001 Mrs. Margherita Costa, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Italian Republic to the Republic of Azerbaijan presented her letter of credentials to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan HE Mr. Heydar Aliyev.

Along with this, a number of Azerbaijani high officials paid visits to Italy. On June 25-27, 2002 the Minister of Economic Development visited Italy at the invitation of Mr. Antonio Marzano, Minister of Productive Activities of Italy. During the visit the Minister had a number of meetings with the representatives of Italian authorities and major companies. During the meeting of the two ministers, the Intergovernmental Memorandum on Cooperation for Development of Small and Medium-size Enterprises (SME) was signed. Also, on October 6-8, 2004 the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov paid a visit to Italy at the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy Mr. Franco Frattini. During the visit Minister Mammadyarov met with his Italian colleague, other representatives of the Italian government and parliament, and participated in the business forum on Azerbaijan organized in the Veneto Region.

The parliamentary relations between the two countries are very intense. A bilateral parliamentary friendship group between Azerbaijan and Italy was established. In the framework of this cooperation the Italian co-chairman of the bilateral group Mr. Fiorello Provera, who is the head of the Permanent Commission for Foreign Affairs of the Senate, paid a visit to Azerbaijan on June 6-10, 2003 and met with the political authorities of Azerbaijan. Moreover, the Deputy-Chairman of the Azerbaijani Parliament Mrs. Govhar Bakhshaliyeva and Azerbaijani Co-Chairman of the Parliamentary Friendship Group Mrs. Amaliya Panahova paid a visit to Rome in occasion of the conference of the World Women Parliamentarians organized by the Chamber of Deputies of Italy on October 17-18, 2004 and during the visit met with the Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini and with a number of Italian parliamentarians.

On November 18, 2004 Mr. Emil Karimov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Republic of Italy, presented his letter of credentials to the President of the Italian Republic HE Mr. Carlo Azelio Ciampi.

At the invitation of the President of the Republic of Italy HE Mr. Carlo Azelio Ciampi, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan HE Mr. Ilham Aliyev paid an official visit to Italy from the 24th to the 26th of February in 2005.

During the visit he met with Mr. Carlo Azelio Ciampi, the President of the Italian Republic, Mr. Silvio Berlusconi, the Prime Minister of the Italian Republic, Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini, the Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies, and discussed with the Italian authorities the present situation and the further prospectives of the cooperation between Azerbaijan and Italy.

President Ilham Aliyev also had meetings with the representatives of the business and sport circles of Italy. Furthermore, President Ilham Aliyev gave an interview to several Italian mass media, such as “ANSA”, “Rai”, and “RaiNews24”, and also delivered a speech devoted to the economic realities of Azerbaijan and its potentials, as well as the opportunities for collaboration in the economic and commercial fields between the two countries, at the business forum “Country Presentation of Azerbaijan” organized by the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (I.C.E) on the occasion of the official visit of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. During the visit the Joint Italian-Azerbaijani Declaration was adopted and the following documents between the various institutions of the two countries were signed:

• Agreement between the Government of the Italian Republic and the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan on mutual administrative assistance for the prevention, investigation and repression of customs offences.
• Agreement for the exchange of news and cooperation between the news agencies AzerTag and ANSA.
• Cooperation Agreement between the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Italian RAI Radio Television Company.
• Technical and Sport Cooperation Agreement between the Azerbaijani National Olympic Committee and the Italian National Olympic Committee.
• Declaration between the Ministry for Cultural Activities of Italy and the Ministry for Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan on cooperation in prevention and recuperation of smuggled cultural objects.
• Declaration between the Ministry for Cultural Activities of Italy and the Ministry for Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan on cooperation in the field of conservation and inventerization of cultural objects.
• Protocol of Friendship and Cooperation between the Executive Power of Baku City (Republic of Azerbaijan) and the Municipality of Rome (Republic of Italy).
• Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Justice of the Italian Republic.

On May 16, 2005 Mr. Enrico La Loggia, the Minister of Regional Affairs of the Italian Republic, paid a visit to Azerbaijan. During the visit Minister La Loggia had a meeting with Mr. Murtuz Alasgarov, the speaker of Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan and exchanged views on the cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the field of parliamentary relations. The Italian minister also met with Mr. Fikrat Mammadov, the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the two ministers discussed the issues regarding the administrative decentralization of the local authorities in both countries and the European Outline Convention on the Transfrontier Cooperation between the Territorial Communities or Authorities.

On May 25, 2005 Mrs. Margerita Boniver, the Undersecretary of the Foreign Affairs of the Italian Republic, paid a working visit to Azerbaijan. During the visit Mrs. M. Boniver participated at the ceremony of the commissioning of the Azerbaijani sector of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Main Export Oil Pipeline and read a letter of congratulations from the Prime Minister of Italy Mr. Silvio Berlusconi. Within the visit the Italian undersecretary was awarded the title of Honorary Professor of the Western University of Baku and she delivered a lecture on human rights to the university faculty and stuff.

Within the visit of the representatives of the General Directorate for the Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy to Azerbaijan on June 1, 2005 in the Cabinet of Ministries of Azerbaijan between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Italian Republic the agreement on the government of Italy’s rendering to Azerbaijan in the humanitarian food assistance, at the sum of 1 million euros, was signed. The food assistance was aimed at the IDPs driven from their homelands as a result of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

From the 8th to the 12th of June 2005, Chairman of Foreign and Migration Affairs Standing Committee of the Italian Senate Mr. Fiorello Provera visited Azerbaijan. On 9th of June Senator Provera was received by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan HE Mr. Ilham Aliyev. During the meeting, expressing consent with his visit to Italy, President Ilham Aliyev stressed on the successful development of the relations between the two countries in numerous fields, including in the economic field. The President of Azerbaijan reminded that the delegations of Azerbaijan and Italy closely cooperate at the international organizations, including at PACE. Senator Provera mentioned hopeful prospects for cooperation between the two countries, including in the inter-parliamentary relations, and noted that Italy will further support the fair position of Azerbaijan in the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno Karabakh conflict at PACE. Within the visit Senator Fiorello Provera had a number of meetings at the legislative body of Azerbaijan; he was firstly received by the Speaker of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) Mr. Murtuz Alasgarov, and then met with Chairman of International Relations and Inter-parliamentary Relations Standing Commission Mr. Samad Seyidov, also with Co-chairman of the Azerbaijan-Italy Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group Mrs. Amalya Panahova. In the framework of the visit Senator Fiorello Provera also exchanged views with the Minister of Economic Development, with the Chairman of State Committee on the Work with Azerbaijanis Leaving in the Foreign Countries Mr. Nazim Ibrahimov, as well as with the Chairman of the State Customs Committee Mr. Kamaladdin Heydarov.

On September 13, 2005 Mr. Gianluigi Mascia, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Italian Republic in the Republic of Azerbaijan, presented his letter of credentials to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan HE Mr. Ilham Aliyev.

At the invitation of Mr. Mario Landolfi, the Minister of Communications of Italy, Ali Abbasov, the Minister of Communication and Information Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan, paid a visit to Italy on December 5-7 in 2005. During the visit, Minister Ali Abbasov firstly met with his counterpart Mr. Mario Landolfi. The two ministers exchanged views on the cooperation in the field of communications and information technologies between the two countries and signed an intergovernmental agreement on the cooperation in the field of network security. In the framework of his visit to Italy, Minister Ali Abbasov also had meetings with senator Luigi Grillo, the Chairman of Public Affairs and Communications Standing Commission of the Senate and other members of this commission, with Mr. Angelo Sanza, the Chairman of the Transportation, Post and Telecommunications Standing Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, with Prof. Renato Quarini, the rector of the well-known La Sapienza University in Rome, with the heads of the Italian Communication and Information Technologies Business Associations Federation (Federcomin) and its member associations, and visited “Tecnopolo Castel Romano” industrial-technological park, which is situated close to Rome.

On March 29-30, 2006 the Minister of Justice of Italy Roberto Castelli paid a visit to Azerbaijan. Minister Castelli was received by the President Ilham Aliyev, who noted the highest level of the bilateral relationships and remarked that Italy continues to contribute to the development of Azerbaijan. Minister Castelli presented a letter from the Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to the President Ilham Aliyev in which the Italian Prime Minister highly appreciated the visit of the Azerbaijani President to Italy in the February of 2005, noted the successes in the process of democratization and economic development in Azerbaijan and indicated the remarkable interest of numerous Italian companies to invest in the Azerbaijani economy.

During the meeting of Minister Castelli with his Azerbaijani homologous, Azerbaijani Minister of Justice Mr. Fikrat Mammadov, the two ministers exchanged views on the cooperation in the field of justice as well as signed an Executive Protocol that considers a number of joint initiatives to realize in the field of the information service, of the formation of the judicial staff and the legislative assistance. Moreover Minister Castelli also talked with Chairman of the Parliament Mr. Ogtay Asadov, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov, and Chairman of Customs Committee Mr. Aydin Aliyev, with whom he talked about the current situation of the bilateral relationships and potential perspectives of the collaboration between the two countries in all fields.

On April 20-22, 2006 Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Farhad Abdullayev was in Rome in order to participate at the 50th anniversary celebration event of the Constitutional Court of the Italian Republic. Within these events Mr. Farhad Abdullayev met his Italian counterpart Mr. Annibale Marini and the two chairmen exchanged their views on the cooperation between the court systems of the two countries.

On October 19-20, 2006 Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs of Italy and Co-chairman of the Consultative Forum on Economic Relations between Azerbaijan and Italy Mr. Famiano Crucianelli paid his first visit to Azerbaijan.

In the framework of his trip’s program, the Italian undersecretary firstly arrived to the Alley of Honors and honored the memory of the nationwide leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev and laid a wreath on his tomb, as well as visited the Alley of Martyrs where he also laid wreaths at the memorial Eternal Fire.

On the 20th of October, Mr. F. Crucianelli was received by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan HE Mr. Ilham Aliyev at the Presidential Palace. The President called Italy one of Azerbaijan’s major economic partners. After having mentioned that the economic cooperation between the two countries mainly covers the oil industry, he pointed out the importance of developing relations in the non-oil sector. President Aliyev added that the rapid economic growth in Azerbaijan creates new opportunities for the enhancement of bilateral economic cooperation. Italian Deputy FM Famiano Crucianelli described the Italian-Azerbaijani relations as very good. He pointed out the strategic significance of Azerbaijan in terms of his country’s energy security. Mr. Crucianelli also stressed the necessity to expand bilateral relations in other fields noting that there are a number of Italian companies interested in doing business in Azerbaijan. He expressed confidence that his current visit to Azerbaijan would further enhance cooperation between the two countries.

During the visit the Italian undersecretary co-chaired the first session of the Azerbaijani-Italian Intergovernmental Commission for economic cooperation together with the Azerbaijani co-chairman of this commission, the Minister of Economic Development. The Minister talked about the economic reforms in Azerbaijan, its positive results, the macroeconomic successes of the country, and described Italy as the biggest trade partner of Azerbaijan, indicating that during the first nine months of this year the trade turnover among the two countries was equal to 1.8 billion USD. Undersecretary Mr. Famiano Crucianelli underlined that his government attaches great importance to the economic cooperation with Azerbaijan, noting that the Institution of Intergovernmental Commissions will contribute to the expansion of relations in the economic field. The participants had a comprehensive exchange of views related to the current state and perspectives of cooperation in various fields and at the end signed the protocol regarding the results of the first session. The first session of the Intergovernmental Commission was also participated by the representatives of Italian business circles (Eni, Edison, Fincantieri, ICE, Todini, Progetto Consorzio Bufala) who met with their Azerbaijani counterparts and discussed the perspectives of the expansion of partnership relations. In the framework of the meeting the Azerbaijani Minister of Agriculture Mr. Ismat Abasov and Undersecretary Mr. Famiano Crucianelli also signed “The Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Polices of the Italian Republic”.

On November 11-12, 2006 Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Italian Republic Mr. Franco Bille paid a visit to Azerbaijan. During the visit Franco Bille met with Speaker of the Parliament (Milli Maclis) Mr. Ogtay Asadov, Chairman of the Constitutional Court Mr. Farhad Abdullayev, and Chairman of the Supreme Court Mr. Ramiz Rzayev, as well as participated in the international conference “Reciprocal Relations between the Constitutional Court and the Courts of General Jurisdiction” organized by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.

On 29-31 January, 2007 Mr. Samad Seyidov, Chairman of the Standing Commission of Milli Majlis (Parliament of Azerbaijan) on International and Inter-parliamentary Relations, head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and the rector of Azerbaijan University of Languages (AUL), visited Italy. During the visit Mr. Samad Seyidov met with the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chamber of Deputies Mr. Umberto Ranieri, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Emigration Commission in the Senate Mr. Dini Lamberto, Senators Giulio Andreotti and Enrico Pianetto, as well as with the head of the Italian delegation to PACE Andrea Rigoni. The two sides shared their views on the democratic reforms being implemented in Azerbaijan, the rapid economic growth, the integration into the European and Euro Atlantic structures, the prospects of the development of the Azerbaijan-Italy relations, had conversations about the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno Karabakh conflict, and the role of Azerbaijan in the dialogue among civilizations and religions. As a rector of Azerbaijan University of Languages Mr. Samad Seyidov also visited the Universities for Foreigners of Siena and Perugia and exchanged views with the rectors of these universities, respected Prof. Massimo Vedovelli and Prof. Stefania Giannini, and signed agreements for cooperation.

On 5-6 February, 2007 Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Mr. Araz Azimov visited Italy. In Italy Mr. Azimov met with the Undersecretary to the Ministry of Foreign Trade Mr. Milos Budin, Undersecretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr. Famiano Krucianelli, Director General of the Directorate General on Multilateral Political Issues and Human Rights of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr. Culio Terzi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defence Mr. Giovanni Lorenzo Forcieri, as well as with the chairmen of the Permanent Commissions, Italian Senate and Chamber of Deputies on foreign relations, defence, EU policy and heads of the Italian delegation to the NATO, Western European Union, and with the parliamentary assemblies of the Council of Europe. During the meetings the parties discussed the Azerbaijani-Italian cooperation in the framework of the international organizations, contribution of Italy to the Azerbaijan-EU and Azerbaijan-NATO corporation, regulation of the protracted conflicts in the GUAM territory, particularly about the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno Karabakh conflict, diversification of the energy supply resources by exportation of the hydrocarbons from Azerbaijan to Europe, joint cooperation of the two countries in the fight against international terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking, non-proliferation of weapons, and illegal migration, and had an exchange of views about the role of Azerbaijan in the dialogue between the civilizations and religions. The deputy minister also delivered a speech about the priorities of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy, security strategy and the perspectives of the further developments in Azerbaijan-Italy cooperation in the International Affairs Institutions.

On February 8, 2007 the Italian delegation composed of the representatives from SIMEST, ICE, SACE, Mediabank and Banca Intesa Sanpaolo, led by the Undersecretary to the Ministry of Foreign Trade Senator Milos Budin, visited Azerbaijan.

On the 8th of February the Italian delegation was received by the President of Azerbaijan HE Mr. Ilham Aliyev at the Presidential Palace. During the meeting President Ilham Aliyev underlined that Azerbaijan’s economy is the most rapidly growing one in the world, with huge investment projects being implemented. “Azerbaijan has been successfully cooperating with Italian companies for a long time, and the current financial situation opens even wider opportunities for the cooperation,” he noted. Senator Milos Budin stated that the growing role of Azerbaijan in regional and international politics increases the Italian companies’ interest in doing business in Azerbaijan. He expressed his confidence in the further strengthening of the Italian-Azerbaijani relations. During the visit, the Italian delegation led Mr. Milos Budin was also received by the Minister of Economic Development of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev, and Chairman of the Management Board of the National Bank of Azerbaijan Mr. Elman Rustamov. The parties discussed a wide range of issues about the bilateral cooperation in trade and banking spheres. There was a brief meeting in AZPROMO (Azerbaijani Export & Investment Promotion Foundation) with the participation of the Italian delegation and Azerbaijani businessmen. The participants of the meeting discussed their perspectives on the further increasing of economic relations and had an exchange of views on the issues of cooperation in trade and investment fields.

On May 20-23, 2007 Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Fizuli Alekperov paid a working visit to Italy to participate in the conference related with the Youth Employment Policy organized by the World Bank and International Labor Organization. In the framework of his working visit Minister F. Alekperov had meetings with his Italian counterparts - Minister of Social Solidarity Mr. Paolo Ferrero and Minister of Labour and Social Protection Mr. Cesare Damiano. Both meetings were focused on the discussions about the items regarding the Azerbaijani-Italian cooperation in the field of labour and social protection. At the end of the meetings the documents regarding the conclusions of the negotiations were signed.

On May 29-June 1, the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Fikrat Mammadov paid a visit to Italy with an invitation of his Italian counterpart Minister of Justice of the Italian Republic, Senator Clemente Mastella. The colleagues had a comprehensive exchange of views on a number of issues of mutual interest, particularly on the enforcement of the relationship in justice, judiciary, court, and law enforcement systems of the two countries, sectors which were set up under the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2005, as well as the Azerbaijani-Italian cooperation against international terrorism and transnational organized crime within international organizations. After the meeting a press-conference was held where the two ministers spoke about the principal directions of the consultations and common activity to be implemented in the future. At the end, the Italian minister gave a reception in honor of his Azerbaijani counterpart. During the visit Minister Fikrat Mammadov also met with the Vice President of the Superior Magistrate Council of the Italian Republic Senator Nicola Mancino, the Vice President of the Supreme Cassation Court of the Italian Republic Mr. Vincenzo Carbone, and the Procurator General of the Supreme Cassation Court of the Italian Republic Mr. Mario Delli Priscoli. The meetings were focused on the institutional democratic reforms, improvement of the justice-judiciary sector in Azerbaijan, and the cooperation between the justice, court, judiciary and law-enforcement systems of the two countries.

On September 19-20, 2007 the delegation of the Italian parliament led by the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Umberto Ranieri, paid a visit to Azerbaijan.

On the 20th of September, Umberto Ranieri was received by the President of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev. The President characterized the Azerbaijan-Italy relations as successfully developing in all fields. He said the yearly increasing trade between the two countries is a positive sign. The Azerbaijani leader also pointed out the importance of inter-parliamentary cooperation, expressing confidence that the visit by the members of the Italian parliament will contribute to the deepening of the bilateral relations.

The Head of the Italian delegation called his country the number one trade partner of Azerbaijan. He said there were great opportunities to develop the bilateral cooperation not only in the energy area but also in areas such as economic and cultural. Umberto Ranieri highly praised the Azerbaijani President’s efforts towards ensuring sustainable democratic development and the noticeable economic growth in the country.

During the visit the Head of the Italian delegation was received by Speaker of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) Mr. Ogtay Asadov, met with Chairman of International Relations and Inter-parliamentary Relations Standing Commission Mr. Samad Seyidov and also exchanged views with Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov.

On 11-13 December, 2007 Mr. Pier Luigi Bersani, Minister for Economic Development of the Republic of Italy, paid a visit to Baku.

During the visit, the Minister was received by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan HE. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, and had a meeting with Mr. Natig Aliyev, Minister for Industry and Energy, and with the Minister for Economic Development, and exchanged views on the cooperation between the two countries. Equally the Ministers of Economic Development of both countries signed a Protocol between Azerbaijan and Italy on cooperation in the natural gas sector.

On November 12, 2008 the Azerbaijani delegation led by the Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Mikayil Jabbarov, paid a visit to Italy for their participation in the business forum that was organized by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economic Development of Italy, and the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade, devoted to the economies of the Southern Caucasus countries. While addressing his speech in the forum, Mr. M. Jabbarov provided information about the economic potential of the country, the affected reforms and emphasized the importance of regional cooperation.

In the framework of the forum, Mr. M. Jabbarov had a bilateral meeting with his Italian counterpart, Undersecretary of the Minister of Economic Development of the Republic of Italy Mr. Adolfo Urso, and exchanged his views on the perspectives of the development of bilateral economic relations.

On November 14, 2008 the Italian delegation, led by the Undersecretary of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Alfredo Mantica, paid a visit to Baku to participate in the 4th Energy Summit.

On November 25-26, 2008 the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev paid an official visit to Italy, at the invitation of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Italy Mr. Silvio Berlusconi.

During the visit President Ilham Aliyev met with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Gianfranco Fini, and discussed the present situation and the further prospects of the cooperation between Azerbaijan and Italy.

President Ilham Aliyev also received Umberto Quadrino, Chief Executive Officer of Edison, and discussed the cooperation prospects in the energy sphere.

Furthermore, President Ilham Aliyev gave an interview to the “Rai International” Italian TV channel, where he responded to a number of questions concerning the relations between the two countries and prospects of development, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan’s role in the energy security policy of Europe.

On December 2-3, 2008 the Italian delegation led by Mr. Giuseppe Proietti, Secretary General of Ministry of Property and Cultural Activities of the Republic of Italy, paid a visit to Baku to participate in the Conference of Ministers of Culture with the theme of “Intercultural Dialogue as a Basis for Peace and Sustainable Development in Europe and its Neighboring Regions” organized by the Azerbaijani Government and Council of Europe.

On 2-3 March, 2009 Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Italy Senator Alfredo Mantica paid a visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan.

On the 3rd of March, 2009 Senator Mantica was received by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan HE Mr. Ilham Aliyev.

Alfredo Mantica conveyed Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi`s greetings to the Azerbaijani leader. He described the meeting President Aliyev had with Prime Minister Berlusconi during his Italy visit as very fruitful, saying “the talks greatly contributed to strengthening relations between the two countries.”

Both President Ilham Aliyev and Italian Deputy FM Alfredo Mantica said the Azerbaijan-Italy relations are developing in various fields, especially in political and economic ones, and expressed their confidence that the relations will further expand. President Ilham Aliyev asked the Italian Deputy FM to extend his greetings to the Italian Prime Minister.

During his visit, Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Senator Alfredo Mantica met with the Azerbaijani Minister of Industry and Energy Natig Aliyev. They discussed ways of boosting cooperation in the power industry and prospects for launching joint projects.

On the 3rd of March, 2009 Rector of Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Hafiz Pashayev and Program Director of Italian Trento University Mr. Ton Notermans signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The 3-year MoU envisages conducting exchanges of professors and undergraduates, as well as joint research projects.

By the order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on April 24, 2009, Mrs. Margherita Costa was appointed the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the city of Genoa and the regions of Liguria, Piemonte, Valle d’Aosta and Lombardy of the Italian Republic.

On October 23, 2009 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Italy to Azerbaijan Mr. Mario Giorgio Stefano Baldi presented his letter of credentials to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan HE Mr. Ilham Aliyev.

On 25-26 April, 2010 the Italian delegation led by Mr. Adolfo Urso, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Italian Republic, paid a visit to Baku.

During the visit Mr. A. Urso was received by Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the mutual interest for the development of economic cooperation between the two countries was stated.

Mr. A. Urso also attended the Azerbaijani-Italian Business Forum organized by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan Export & Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) and Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE). In a course of the business forum, a Joint Declaration for the strengthening of economic cooperation between the two countries was signed by Mr. A. Urso and Mr. Niyazi Safarov, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

On April 28-29, 2010 the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov visited Italy at the invitation of Italian Foreign Minister Mr. Franco Frattini.

photo by Mario Renzis (ANSA)

During the meeting, the Ministers discussed about the bilateral political and economic cooperations, the current situation in the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the OSCE Minsk Group's efforts and the position of Azerbaijan in the issue, and exchanged views on regional and international issues.

Minister Mammadyarov met also with Umberto Quadrino, Chief Executive Officer of Edison, and discussed the issues of bilateral cooperation in the energy sector.

On May 3-5, 2010 the delegation of Milli Majlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan headed by Speaker HE Mr. Ogtay Asadov visited Italy at the invitation of the President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy H.E. Mr. Gianfranco Fini.

During the visit the delegation met with the President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy HE Mr. Gianfranco Fini, the deputy chairman of the Italian Senate HE Mr. Vannino Chiti, and with the Chairman of the European Policy Commission in the Italian Senate and head of the Italy-Azerbaijan Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group, Senator Rosanna Boldi.

Issues of regional development, current state and future development prospects of the Italian-Azerbaijani inter-parliamentary cooperation in various fields, information and experience exchange, as well as the practice in law-making were discussed at the meetings.

TRADE TURNOVER WITH ITALY

Source: State Statistic Committee of Azerbaijan