Phone talks between Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy Antonio Tajani took place on November 21, 2022, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told TurkicWorld.

Minister Bayramov congratulated his colleague on his appointment and wished him success in his future activities. He outlined the importance of high-level visits aimed at strengthening the Azerbaijan-Italy strategic partnership, in particular the visit of Italian President Sergio Mattarella to Azerbaijan in 2018, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's visit to Italy in 2020 and in September 2022, as well as the visit of former Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy Luigi Di Maio in 2022.

The official pointed out the significance of further enhancing relations between the two countries, multidimensional strategic partnership and political dialogue within the "Joint Declaration on Strengthening the Multidimensional Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Italy".

Speaking of Azerbaijan-Italy collaboration on education, the minister underscored the Italy-Azerbaijan University, the foundation of which was laid during the Italian foreign minister's visit to Baku. He praised the development of energy cooperation and expressed readiness for the next meeting of the Azerbaijan-Italy Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation in Baku, which was last held in Rome.

The Azerbaijani minister briefed on the reconstruction work carried out in the post-Karabakh conflict period, the normalization process with Armenia, as well as thanked Italy for supporting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan. Meantime, he noted that Italy is one of the first countries to take part in the restoration activities on Azerbaijan's liberated lands.

Tajani emphasized the strategic dialogue and cooperation between Azerbaijan and Italy, noted Italy's constant support for regional peace and stability. According to him, there are great prospects for partnership in education and culture, along with energy.

The sides commended effective cooperation ties between Azerbaijan and Italy in the economic sector, saying that Italy is Azerbaijan's largest trading partner, and Azerbaijan is one of the top energy suppliers to Italy. The importance of the Southern Gas Corridor and TAP in expanding energy cooperation was also noted.

Other issues of mutual interest were also discussed during the phone conversation. Minister Jeyhun Bayramov invited his Italian colleague to visit Azerbaijan.