BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 13. The current
market value of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) investment
portfolio in Italy is $2.8 billion, Minister of Energy Parviz
Shahbazov said at the 6th meeting of the Azerbaijan-Italy
Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation in Baku today,
Trend
reports.
The minister emphasized that so far, $342 million has been
invested from Azerbaijan to Italy, and $805 million from Italy to
Azerbaijan.
"We have great potential in this area. Currently, the market
value of the investment portfolio of SOFAZ in Italy is $2.8
billion. In order to ensure the growth of these indicators, signing
an agreement on the promotion and mutual protection of investments
is one of the necessary issues facing us," he explained.
According to Shahbazov, last year, Azerbaijan maintained its
position as Italy's main supplier of crude oil and the second
largest supplier of natural gas, supplying 10.34 million tons of
oil and a total of 9.5 billion cubic meters of gas through SOCAR
alone.
"Italy, the largest buyer of Azerbaijani oil and gas in Europe,
directed approximately 45% of total oil exports and 38% of gas
exports," the minister added.
Established in 1999, SOFAZ is an extrabudgetary fund that
operates as a distinct legal entity, independent of the government
or central bank. SOFAZ protects and judiciously administers
energy-derived revenues for current and forthcoming generations. A
fundamental principle of SOFAZ is transparency. During this era,
the Fund has evolved institutionally and attained international
recognition as an asset management organization.
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