Azerbaijani, Israeli foreign ministers eye bilateral ties, energy, Iran threat

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen will visit Azerbaijan in the coming days, Azernews reports.

Cohen made the remarks at a joint press conference with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov during the latter’s official visit to Israel.

Noting the huge potential for developing relations between Israel and Azerbaijan, the minister informed that the Israeli delegation will come to Azerbaijan to improve trade relations between the two states.

"Israel will make every effort to expand ties with Azerbaijan in the economic, technological, and other fields," the official said.

In his turn, Bayramov stated that the next meeting of the Azerbaijan-Israel intergovernmental commission will be held on April 19 in Baku. He also noted that he was looking forward to meeting with Cohen in Baku next month.

According to Bayramov, the two countries seek to further deepen bilateral cooperation in the economy, noting that there are currently 114 Israeli companies operating in Azerbaijan.

Moreover, the minister said that the decision to open Azerbaijan's embassy in Israel was an important step in strengthening bilateral cooperation.

He underlined that relations between the countries have developed over the past 30 years in various sectors, in particular, in the security, economy, and energy sectors.

He also noted the important role of the Jewish community living in Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani community of Israel in strengthening bilateral ties.

“Jewish people and Azerbaijanis have been living together in peace and harmony for many years,” Bayramov added.

During the event, the Israeli official thanked Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for the historic decision to open the embassy in Tel Aviv.

Azerbaijan is promoting the peace agenda, but Armenia threatens it with its aggressive rhetoric. After liberating its lands from occupation, Azerbaijan is doing reconstruction and restoration work there," the minister said.

Jeyhun Bayramov noted that Azerbaijan highly appreciates the interest of Israeli companies in the process of restoring its liberated territories.

"I am sure that this diplomatic mission led by Ambassador Muxtar Mammadov will become an important bridge that will further strengthen relations between our governments and peoples," Cohen added.

Talking about the economy, Bayramov stressed the importance of energy cooperation in bilateral ties, stating that Azerbaijani oil makes up about 30% of the oil consumed by Israel.

He also added that today Azerbaijan is transitioning to an economy based on sustainable, renewable energy.

"Renewable energy sources will give a significant impetus to our efforts to grow the economy. In this light, there is great potential for Israel to bring its best practices and technologies to Azerbaijan," he said.

Additionally, the top official appreciated the interest of Israeli companies in cooperation in the implementation of the concept of "smart cities" in Azerbaijan’s liberated territories.

He also thanked Israel for supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, both before and during the 2020 Patriotic War.

Furthermore, the Israeli foreign minister underlined that Azerbaijan and Israel share “the threat from Iran as it threatens the region and creates instability in the Middle East by supporting and financing terrorism”.

"We must act together against Iran. We must not allow Iran to expand its nuclear potential," he added.

He noted that the two countries can do this by using political and economic tools while formulating reliable and decisive military forces.