To strengthen economic and industrial cooperation between Italy and Azerbaijan, promote new investment opportunities and develop partnerships in strategic sectors. These are the objectives of the initiative ‘Italy-Azerbaijan: Strengthening Economic and Industrial Cooperation’, organised today in Rome by Confindustria, in collaboration with the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The meeting, attended by Azerbaijan’s Minister of the Economy, Mikayil Jabbarov, who is currently visiting Italy, marks a further step towards strengthening bilateral relations, not least in the run-up to the Italy-Azerbaijan Business Forum, scheduled to take place in Baku before the end of the year.
The discussions centred on the prospects for cooperation between the two countries’ production systems in the sectors of energy, critical raw materials, mining and metallurgy, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, IT services and tourism.
During the event, an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan, aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation and fostering the development of new opportunities for economic and industrial collaboration.
Italy is the leading destination market for Azerbaijani exports, with bilateral trade reaching EU 8 billion in 2025.
Energy cooperation is one of the cornerstones of the bilateral partnership. The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), through which almost 48 billion cubic metres of gas reached Italy between 2021 and 2025, is a strategic piece of infrastructure for the diversification of Italian and European energy supplies. On this basis, the two countries intend to expand their cooperation into new industrial and technological sectors, capitalising on the expertise of Italian companies and the prospects for diversification of the Azerbaijani economy.
“Energy cooperation is a cornerstone of relations between Italy and Azerbaijan, but today we have the opportunity to strengthen and expand this partnership into new strategic sectors, from critical raw materials to metallurgy, and from artificial intelligence to digital technologies. Our exports to Azerbaijan reached EUR 432 million in 2025, but we can do much more: according to estimates from our Study Centre, there is additional potential of over EUR 110 million,” said Confindustria President Emanuele Orsini. “The aim is to turn these opportunities into industrial projects, investments and long-term partnerships, making the most of our companies’ expertise and technologies and contributing to the diversification of Azerbaijan’s manufacturing sector. Confindustria is ready to support this process and to foster new synergies between the two production systems, not least in the run-up to the forthcoming Business Forum in Baku.”
“Azerbaijan is a strategic partner for Italy, both economically and politically, and we wish to further strengthen opportunities for industrial cooperation, including in the sector of critical raw materials. The Joint Declaration on Strategic Cooperation will provide a framework for integrating Italian expertise with Azerbaijan’s mining potential, across the entire supply chain, from extraction to processing and recycling,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani.
“The strategic partnership between Italy and Azerbaijan is being strengthened with a new focus: to complement the well-established energy cooperation between our countries with new Azerbaijani investments in our manufacturing sector,” said the Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Senator Adolfo Urso. “We want to build a technological and industrial partnership with Azerbaijan that showcases Italian excellence in the most innovative sectors, from artificial intelligence applied to production processes to advanced robotics. The joint declaration on critical raw materials signed today is a step in this direction: combining Azerbaijani resources and Italian expertise to diversify supply chains and promote investment throughout the entire supply chain, including with the possible support of the ‘Made in Italy’ National Fund,” he added. “Azerbaijan could also be an important partner for the strategic stockpiling project for critical raw materials that Italy is proposing to set up in Porto Marghera: a first European pilot site designed to protect Italian and European industries from supply shocks and strengthen our strategic autonomy”.
The meeting, opened by Aurelio Regina, Confindustria’s Vice-President for Energy, explored opportunities for cooperation between the two countries. Azerbaijani companies presented projects and potential areas for collaboration, followed by B2B meetings with Italian firms.
