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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