Azerbaijan’s Minister of Economy, Mikayil Jabbarov, begins a two-day visit to Italy today, accompanied by senior representatives of leading Azerbaijani state-owned and private companies, as well as investment firms.
The delegation includes representatives of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), Azerbaijan Investment Holding, AzerGold CJSC, Azeraluminium LLC, Baku Steel Company CJSC, PASHA Holding LLC, the Center for Analysis and Coordination of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4SIM), operating under the Ministry of Economy, and the Azerbaijan Business Development Fund OJSC.
The visit comes amid expanding investment and trade ties between Azerbaijan and Italy.
In May this year, SOCAR acquired a 99.82% stake in Italiana Petroli (IP) from API Holding. As a result, Azerbaijan’s direct investment in Italy reached $3.2456 billion in the first half of the year, representing a 309.4-fold increase compared with the same period in 2025. Italy’s share of Azerbaijan’s total foreign direct investment rose from 0.8% to 64.9%.
Bilateral trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Italy totalled approximately $9.2 billion in January–September 2026, up 3.2% from the corresponding period of 2025.
Exports accounted for approximately $8.8 billion of the total, increasing by 3%, while imports reached $400 million, up 6.6% year on year.