President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel, co-chair of the Joint Commission Eli Cohen.
Hailing Azerbaijan-Israel relations, the head of state noted that the two countries enjoy good political ties. President Ilham Aliyev described the opening of the embassy of Azerbaijan in Israel as a sign of the high level of relations, and emphasized that these ties are based on friendship, mutual trust, respect and support. Saying that the bilateral cooperation agenda is expanding, the head of state specially stressed the activity of the Joint Commission between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the State of Israel, and expressed hope that it could contribute to the diversification of relations.
Underlining that the process of modernization of the economy is successfully implemented in Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev noted the importance of exchanging experience in the field of technologies, including green energy, smart city and smart village concepts. The head of state highlighted the conditions created in the Alat Free Economic Zone, noting that there are good opportunities for Israeli companies to operate here and come up with new projects. The importance of considering the possibilities of SOCAR’s participation in the exploitation of hydrocarbon resources in Israel was also emphasized.
The Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs hailed the opening of the Azerbaijan’s embassy in his country, expressing hope that it would contribute to strategic relations between the two nations. The Minister expressed his gratitude for opening the embassy and underlined that the Israel-Azerbaijan relations are of strategic character. Eli Cohen pointed out that friendly relations exist not only between the two states but also the peoples of both countries.
The Foreign Minister of Israel underlined that he is accompanied by a large delegation and touched upon bilateral relations in the tourism sector, saying the number of Israeli tourists visiting Azerbaijan is on upward trend. He noted that the trade turnover between the two countries is seen to be on rise, adding there are ample opportunities for increasing it even more.
Big opportunities for development of cooperation in economy, energy, agriculture, renewable energy, investments, science, education, culture, tourism, security and other fields were stressed at the meeting. It was noted that Azerbaijan is interested in Israel’s experience in water resource management, sea water desalination, prevention of desertification and desert and semi-desert farming.