President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Minister of Defence of Italy Guido Crosetto.

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