President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received Minister of Defense of the Republic of Italy Guido Crosetto on January 11.

APA reports that President Ilham Aliyev stated that Azerbaijan-Italy bilateral relations based on strategic partnership are developing successfully, emphasized the importance of high-level mutual visits in this regard, and noted his recent visit to Italy with satisfaction.

Recalling that the head of state sent a congratulatory letter to the new Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Italy, Giorgio Meloni, he noted that the visit to our country at the level of the Minister of Defense is a good indicator of our relations, despite the fact that a short time has passed since the formation of the new government, and expressed confidence that the cooperation between the new government and Azerbaijan will be successful.

Recalling that the first event at the opening of the new building of the Azerbaijani embassy in the historical district of Rome was dedicated to the exchange of agreements signed 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 Italian-Azerbaijan University in Azerbaijan is nearing completion.

The head of state appreciated Italy's contribution to the expansion of Azerbaijan-NATO and Azerbaijan-European Union relations and noted that there is successful cooperation between our countries in various fields, including energy.

President Ilham Aliyev emphasized the efficient operation of the Southern Gas Corridor in this regard.

President Ilham Aliyev expressed confidence that Guido Crosetto's visit to Azerbaijan will serve to strengthen cooperation both between the relevant institutions of our countries and in a broader sense, and expressed hope that our bilateral relations will continue to strengthen.

Expressing that he was honored by the meeting with President Ilham Aliyev, Guido Crosetto, first of all, conveyed the greetings of Italian President Sergio Mattarella to the head of our 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 head of our state's visit to Italy and met with the President of Azerbaijan. once again emphasized the existence of friendly relations.

The head of state expressed his gratitude for the greetings and kind words, and asked to convey his greetings to the President of Italy.

Guido Crosetto stated that before the visit, he also met with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Italy, Giorgio Meloni, and noted that Giorgio Meloni stressed that the visit of the Italian Minister of Defense to our country shows that the Italian government is determined to further expand cooperation with Azerbaijan.

Minister Guido Crosetto noted that the visits of the President of Azerbaijan to Italy are always met with great satisfaction in this country.

The guest expressed his gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for the role played by Italy in the development of Azerbaijan-NATO and Azerbaijan-EU relations.

Guido Crosetto said that the development processes taking place in Baku made a deep impression on them.

During the conversation, it was reported that there are good prospects for expanding cooperation in energy, construction, tourism, agriculture, defense industry and other fields.