Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will visit Armenia on May 4 and Azerbaijan on May 5.
Modern.az reports that foreign media commented on Giorgia Meloni's expected visit to the South Caucasus.
It was stated that the visit shows the essence of Giorgia Meloni's approach to the South Caucasus: Baku is a strategic priority for Rome, while Yerevan plays more of a political symbol role.
C. Meloni will participate in the meeting in Yerevan on May 4 within the framework of the 8th European Political Community Summit, and then will go to Baku on an official visit on May 5.
Meloni's visit to Yerevan is mainly explained in the European context. In recent years, Armenia has been trying to strengthen its ties with the European Union and present itself as part of the European political space. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that events such as the European Political Community Summit increase the country's international legitimacy.
It is noted that for the Italian Prime Minister, the visit to Yerevan is a means to demonstrate support for European platforms, as well as to symbolically support Armenia as a democratic partner.
In return, relations with Azerbaijan are deeper and more structural for Italy. For Rome, Azerbaijan primarily means energy security, infrastructure and extensive trade relations.
Italy has long been Azerbaijan's main trade partner and the main buyer of its energy resources. In particular, gas transported through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) plays an important role in Italy's energy balance and provides a significant part of the country's gas demand.
In addition, the transportation of Azerbaijani gas to countries such as Austria and Germany via Italy strengthens Rome's process of becoming Europe's energy hub.
Foreign media write that the relations between the two countries are not limited to energy. Large Italian companies – for example, “Eni”, “Snam” and “Leonardo” – are actively operating in Azerbaijan in the fields of energy, infrastructure and technology.
This cooperation model turns Azerbaijan into not just a source of raw materials for Italy, but also a platform for industrial and technological participation.
Thus, Giorgia Meloni's visit to the region reflects two different goals:
In Yerevan – a message of political and diplomatic support;
In Baku – strengthening real economic and strategic interests.
This approach shows that the main priority in Italy's South Caucasus policy is energy security and geo-economic interests, and in this regard, Azerbaijan acts as a decisive partner.
A.Gorkhmaz
