(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 11 . President of the
Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Minister of
Defence of Italy Guido Crosetto, trend reports.
Saying that Azerbaijani-Italian bilateral relations based on
strategic partnership are developing successfully, President Ilham
Aliyev emphasized the importance of high-level reciprocal visits in
this regard, and hailed his recent visit to Italy.
Recalling his congratulatory letter to new President of the
Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic Giorgia Meloni, the
head of state noted that despite the fact that a short period of
time has passed since the formation of the new government, the
visit to Azerbaijan at the level of the Minister of Defence is a
good indicator of relations between the two countries, and
expressed confidence that the cooperation between the new
government and Azerbaijan would be successful.
Recalling that the first event during the opening of the new
building of the Azerbaijani Embassy in the historic district of
Rome was dedicated to the ceremony of exchanging agreements on
academic cooperation between ADA University and five leading
Italian higher education institutions, President Ilham Aliyev said
that the construction of the building of the Italy-Azerbaijan
University in Azerbaijan is nearing completion.
Hailing Italy's contribution to the expansion of Azerbaijan-NATO
and Azerbaijan-European Union relations, the head of state noted
that the two countries maintain successful cooperation in various
fields, including energy. President Ilham Aliyev emphasized the
effective functioning of the Southern Gas Corridor in this regard.
President Ilham Aliyev expressed confidence that Guido Crosetto's
visit to Azerbaijan would serve to strengthen cooperation both
between the two countries' relevant institutions and in a broader
sense. The head of state expressed his hope that the bilateral
relations would continue to strengthen.
Saying that it is an honor for him to meet President Ilham
Aliyev, Guido Crosetto, first of all, conveyed the greetings of
President of Italy Sergio Mattarella to the head of state, and
noted that during the meeting with the Italian President before the
visit, Sergio Mattarella recalled with pleasure his visit to
Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani President's visit to Italy and once
again emphasized the friendly relations with President Ilham
Aliyev.
The head of state thanked for the greetings and kind words, and
asked the Italian defence minister to convey his greetings to the
President of Italy.
Noting that before the visit he also met with President of the
Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic, Guido Crosetto said
that Giorgia Meloni emphasized that the visit of the Italian
Minister of Defence to Azerbaijan shows that the Italian government
is determined to further expand cooperation with Azerbaijan.
Minister Guido Crosetto noted that the Azerbaijani President's
visits to Italy are always welcomed with great pleasure in this
country.
The Italian defense minister expressed his gratitude to
President Ilham Aliyev for his appreciation of Italy's role in the
development of Azerbaijan-NATO and Azerbaijan-European Union
relations.
Guido Crosetto said that they were deeply impressed by the
development processes in the city of Baku.
During the conversation, it was noted that there were good
prospects for expanding cooperation in the fields of energy,
construction, tourism, agriculture, defense industry and
others.