Story perspectives

Meloni, Aliyev Forge Energy Deal, €10.2B Trade Boost

5/7/2026

Summary

Meloni Visits Baku

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited Baku on 4 May 2026 and agreed with President Ilham Aliyev to establish a coordination mechanism.
Bilateral trade hit €10.2 billion last year, making Italy Azerbaijan’s top partner.
Azerbaijan supplied 9.5 billion cubic metres of gas to Italy—about 16 percent of its imports—prompting leaders to urge expansion of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline.
Azerbaijan’s State Oil Fund has invested $3 billion in Italy and will host a business forum in Baku in 2026.

Summary

Meloni Secures Aid

Meloni secured Swiss President Guy Parmelin’s pledge of care for Italian families from the Crans-Montana tragedy.
She urged Prime Minister Mark Carney to deepen G7 cooperation on critical-minerals supply chains and migration.
She co-chaired the Coalition Against Drugs meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron to boost EU anti-trafficking.
During her prime-minister visit to Baku in 13 years, she highlighted a U.S.–Armenian corridor linking Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan with energy-digital expansion.

Summary

Italy Expands Cooperation

ENI and SOCAR signed three MoUs on methane reduction, bio-fuel production and energy security.
1,025 Azerbaijani residents lived in Italy on 1 January 2023, up from 211 in 2006.
Hundreds of Azerbaijani students receive scholarships to Italian universities as an Italy-Azerbaijan University is built in Baku with five Italian partners.
Leonardo will deliver C-27J Spartan aircraft and expand cooperation, with Snam slated for infrastructure and Karabakh-region restoration under the Mattei Plan.

Summary

Meloni Boosts Ties

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni posted on X after her Baku trip, calling it concrete and citing cooperation in energy, security and investment.
President Ilham Aliyev called Meloni’s arrival symbolic, noted she came from Armenia, and said visit shows an attitude that will be decisive for relations.
Both leaders highlighted cooperation, calling the link a bridge between the Caspian and Mediterranean, and noted that talks will continue in an expanded format.

History

Historical Context

EU-Azerbaijan ties deepened after the 1999 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and a 2007-2010 €92 million aid plan. In January 2011 the EU and Azerbaijan signed a joint declaration launching the Southern Gas Corridor, set to deliver an initial 10 billion cubic metres of Caspian gas by 2020 via the Trans-Anatolian and Trans-Adriatic pipelines. A 2022 EU-Azerbaijan accord further expanded gas imports.

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Meloni Visits Baku

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited Baku on 4 May 2026 and agreed with President Ilham Aliyev to establish a coordination mechanism.
Bilateral trade hit €10.2 billion last year, making Italy Azerbaijan’s top partner.
Azerbaijan supplied 9.5 billion cubic metres of gas to Italy—about 16 percent of its imports—prompting leaders to urge expansion of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline.
Azerbaijan’s State Oil Fund has invested $3 billion in Italy and will host a business forum in Baku in 2026.

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