In Rome, the capital city of Italy, on May 28 – Independence Day of Azerbaijan, a concert program was organized.

The ceremony, which was organized by the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Italy, the Chamber of Commerce Italy-Azerbaijan, and "Technip Energies" and "Arkimede" companies, was held at the Auditorium della Conciliazione. Officials from Italy, parliament members, representatives of the diplomatic mission and international community, and residents of the Azerbaijani diaspora living in Italy, studying, or working in Italy participated in the event.

National anthems of Azerbaijan and Italy were played at the start of the ceremony.

Addressing the ceremony, Azerbaijan Ambassador in Italy Rashad Aslanov spoke about Azerbaijan's Independence Day history and said that 28 May 1918 was the day when the first democratic and secular state in the Muslim East — the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic — was declared. He asserted that from the beginning, the republic was based on principles of popular sovereignty and eliminated racial, ethnic, religious, and class distinctions by granting equal rights to all citizens of the country.

The diplomat stressed the tremendous role of National Leader Heydar Aliyev, founder of sovereign modern Azerbaijan, to restore and ensure the state sovereignty of the nation, regained in autumn 1991. He reminded that restoration of Heydar Aliyev to power in 1993 preserved the state sovereignty of Azerbaijan. Ambassador Aslanov pointed out that due to the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, the worthy successor of the National Leader, the international reputation of Azerbaijan considerably increased, and the country became the leader in the region.

He also emphasized that Azerbaijan had a historic victory in 2020 and completely regained its state sovereignty in 2023 and, besides this, 2025 was announced as the "Year of the Constitution and Sovereignty" in Azerbaijan. The Ambassador spoke about the international and regional initiatives carried out by the nation, the grand-scale reconstruction and restoration work in the Karabakh region, and the on-going process of peace in the region.

The diplomat highlighted the value of top-level mutual visits, pointing out, in particular, that following President Ilham Aliyev's visit to Italy in September last year Azerbaijani-Italian relations grew more active and multifaceted in nature.

On Independence Day, congratulating Azerbaijan on behalf of the Italian government, Minister for Enterprises and "Made in Italy" Adolfo Urso declared that Azerbaijan is a significant partner country for Italy. Discussing the dynamic and strategic nature of the bilateral relations, the Minister referred to the mutual visits of the leaders of the two countries, including the upcoming visit of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to Azerbaijan within the framework of COP29, and underlined the tremendous role played by such visits in the development of bilateral relations. He further discussed the tremendous opportunities for cooperation in different areas.

Minister Urso mentioned Italy's and Azerbaijan's strong economic relations, saying that the Azerbaijani business environment is becoming increasingly interesting for Italian companies. He ensured that cooperation between the two nations will only progress and grow.

Greeting Azerbaijan on the occasion of its Independence Day were the other speakers as well, who pointed out the strategic character of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Italy, and expressed the hope for further consolidation of bilateral cooperation.

The concert hall was represented by music of works by the famous composer and People's Artist Eldar Mansurov, directed by Honored Artist Fuad Ibrahimov and played by the Molise Symphony Orchestra. The show was welcomed by tempestuous applause of the audience.

Eldar Mansurov was satisfied with the concert on Independence Day of Azerbaijan in Rome and expressed gratitude to the artists and organizers.