Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

An Azerbaijani-Italian business forum was held in Baku on November 13.

The forum was organized by the Italian Embassy in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO), and the Italian Trade Agency (ICE), in collaboration with the National Association of Builders (ANCE) and Federprogetti Association.

Azerbaijan's Deputy Economy and Industry Minister Niyazi Safarov, Italian Deputy Minister of the Economic Development Carlo Calenda, Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Italy Vagif Sadigov, Italian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Giampaolo Cutillo, Head of AZPROMO Rufat Mammadov, and ICE's Head Riccardo Maria Monti attended the forum.

The event brought together 52 Italian companies and about 300 representatives of both countries that operate in such fields as industry, constructing, consulting, finance, ICT, energy, infrastructure, and design.

Opening the event, Niyazi Safarov said that Azerbaijan is interested in expanding cooperation with Italy in the non-oil sector of the economy which increased 2.7-fold in the last 10 years.

"Currently, opportunities exist for the expansion of cooperation between the countries, and it is therefore necessary to strengthen joint efforts in this direction," the Deputy Minister said.

According to Safarov, Italy is a major trading partner of Azerbaijan. The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Italy amounted to $5.8 billion at the end of 2012, and foreign trade operations between the two countries amounted to $4.6 billion in the first nine months of the year.

He also said that Italian companies have already invested about $47.9 million in the main capital and $65.6 million in the non-oil sector of Azerbaijan.

Carlo Calenda said the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Italy had doubled in 2013, compared to the previous year, adding that the main volume of Italian investments in Azerbaijan fall on the energy sector, which creates a kind of imbalance.

"We intend to interest Italian companies in participating in the textile industry, construction, and so on," the Deputy Minister said.

Calenda said that trade relations between the two countries are developing at a very high speed.

"However, the level of cooperation in the investment industry is still low, and it develops slowly," he said. "Our main goal is the mutual acquaintance of Italian and Azerbaijani companies, which will promote the growth of investment in our economies."

Speaking at the forum, Italy's Ambassador to Azerbaijan Giampaolo Cutillo said that Italy is interested in expanding bilateral relations, and the cooperation between the two countries is developing successfully.

Later, Head of AZPROMO Rufat Mammadov made ​​a presentation about Azerbaijan's economy and informed the Italian entrepreneurs about some promising areas in the private sector, such as the agricultural and food sectors, tourism, and alternative energy fields.

AZPROMO and ICE signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation in the framework of the business forum, during which several workshops were held.

Italy recognized Azerbaijan's independence in January 1991. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in May 1992, and the legal framework for bilateral cooperation includes 30 documents.

Earlier Azerbaijan's State Customs Committee said that Italy remains the largest importer of Azerbaijani goods. Almost a quarter of Azerbaijan's export fell to Italy in January-July 2013, compared to 22 percent in the same period in 2012. Currently, 45 Italian companies operate in Azerbaijan in insurance, banking, trade, and other areas.