What does Azerbaijan want as it expands ties with Israel?
Baku, April 18, AZERTAC
Following up on the recent opening of Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tel Aviv, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen departed for a state visit to the Central Asian country on Monday, according to Tazpit Press Service (TPS).
In March, Azerbaijan became the first Shi’ite Muslim nation to open an embassy and post an ambassador in Israel when Ambassador Mukhtar Mamed Oglu presented his credentials to Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
In Baku, Cohen is expected to meet with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and ministers of Foreign Affairs, Jeyhun Bayramov and Economy, Mikayil Jabbarov to discuss strengthening relations in the areas of security, the economy, energy, education, academia, culture and sports and more.
Cohen is also leading a delegation of businessmen from 20 Israeli companies in the fields of cyber security, homeland security, water management and agriculture. The delegation will hold dozens of meetings with companies and government organizations in Azerbaijan.
Professor Eyal Zisser of Tel Aviv University told the Tazpit Press Service that Israeli-Azerbaijani relations focus mostly on security cooperation and Iran.
“Azerbaijan is a Shi’ite Muslim country, but it’s secular. The relationship is an important and strategic asset to Israel,” Zisser told TPS.
“Israel provides weapons to Azerbaijan. These weapons helped Azerbaijan confront Armenia several years ago,” Zisser explained. “The cooperation was there for years, but it’s becoming more public now.”
Azerbaijan shares a border with Iran and relations between the two countries are tense. On Jan. 27, a gunman attacked the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran, killing the embassy’s security chief and injuring two others. Baku blames Iran for the attack.
Other news in this section
