Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

An Azerbaijani-Italian business meeting was held in Baku on November 21.

The meeting brought together Italian businessmen working in such areas as infrastructure, construction, industry, alternative energy, environment, etc.

Speaking at the event, President of the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) Rufat Mammadov informed participants on the country's achievements and highlighted the business and investment environment in Azerbaijan.

Vice President of Azerbaijan-Italy Chamber of Commerce Emilio Saponara, in turn, emphasized the importance of the business meeting and said it will contribute to further developing and exploring new areas of business cooperation. He also said Italy is ready to work in design, construction, the textile industry, education, geology, and tourism spheres with Azerbaijan.

Former Italian Deputy Economy and Foreign Trade Minister Adolfo Urso, speaking at the event, praised economic relations between the two countries.

Earlier, an Azerbaijani-Italian business forum was held in Baku, 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.

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

Italy remains the largest importer of Azerbaijani goods. Almost a quarter of Azerbaijan's export went 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.