Italian engineering and construction group Maire Tecnimont and Azerbaijani state-owned oil company, SOCAR have signed an 800 million dollar contract to upgrade and rebuild the Heydar Aliyev crude oil refinery in Baku, Italy's foreign ministry said on Friday.
The Italian ambassador in Baku, Augusto Massari, underlined how the long-term agreement will have a strategic impact on bilateral ties between Italy and Azerbaijan.
"Diplomatic, political and institutional relations must be complemented by concrete industrial partnerships," Massari stated.
"The contract signed today by SOCAR and Tecnimont is a clear example of this. Such projects, besides having a strategic value for both companies, will bring the economies of our two countries closer, hence consolidating our friendly relations."
Italy is Azerbaijan's major trade partner. Trade between the two countries amounted to over four billion euros between January and last October - a 50 percent jump from the same time period in 2016, according to the foreign ministry.
The contract to modernise and expand the Heydar Aliyev refinery was signed by its chief executive officer Elman Ismayilov and by Maire Tecnimont's CEO Pierroberto Folgiero, the Azeri Press Agency reported.
The objective of the deal is to improve the quality of fuel and lubricants in Azerbaijan and boost outut, APA quoted SOCAR as stating.
