On an official visit to Azerbaijan, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met in Baku with President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday, ahead of his trip to Turkmenistan where Israel is expected to open an embassy.
A statement from Israel’s Foreign Ministry after Cohen’s meeting with Aliyev said that the two countries are strengthening their diplomatic and security alliance. The two also discussed deepening economic and tourism ties, with Azerbaijan being seen by Israel as a critical access point to Eurasia.
Cohen congratulated Aliyev on his decision to open an embassy in Israel last month after 30 years without diplomatic relations. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov inaugurated his country’s embassy in Tel Aviv on March 29, prompting Tehran to complain of the “anti-Iranian orientation” of Azeri diplomacy.
Cohen arrived to Baku on Tuesday at the head of a large economic delegation of some 30 companies in the fields of homeland security, cyber security, water management and smart agriculture. More than 100 meetings were set up for the different Israeli representatives with local companies and Azeri officials.
