President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Vice President of the Italian Senate Linda Lanzillotta.

Vice President of the Italian Senate Linda Lanzillotta said that her visit to Azerbaijan was fruitful and interesting, stressing its importance in terms of strengthening friendship with Azerbaijan.

Noting that the energy sector is a key area for cooperation between the two countries, Linda Lanzillotta expressed her country`s commitment to the TAP project. She expressed her confidence that it is also very important in expanding relations between Azerbaijan and Italy.

Touching upon the work done to diversify the economy in Azerbaijan, the vice president said Italy is interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan in the fields of infrastructure and agriculture. Recalling Milan Expo 2015, Linda Lanzillotta noted that the Azerbaijani pavilion in the exhibition aroused great interest and was highly appreciated.

President Ilham Aliyev said that his country attaches great importance to developing Italy-Azerbaijan bilateral ties. The head of state noted that Italy is the major trade partner of Azerbaijan, emphasizing oil export plays a key role here. The President pointed out that the TAP project is of great importance in developing long-term cooperation between the two countries, and noted that this project is being successfully implemented on schedule, expressing hope that the work will be completed on time. President Ilham Aliyev also said that works in other parts of the Southern Gas Corridor, including Shahdeniz, South Caucasus Pipeline were implemented 100 percent, while TANAP more than 80 percent. Stressing the importance of the Southern Gas Corridor as a global energy security project, the head of state noted that Italy is one of the main countries where Azerbaijan will export gas, adding it is of particular importance in developing the bilateral bonds.

Underlining the significance of speeding up work to diversify the trade, the head of state stressed the necessity of focusing on other areas, including industry, agriculture, infrastructure and transport. Touching upon the participation of Italian companies in the projects, which are being implemented in Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev invited Italian companies to participate in infrastructure and other projects, which will be implemented in Baku and regions of the country.

They exchanged views over expansion of opportunities of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Italy in a variety of fields.