Azerbaijani foreign minister to attend embassy opening in Israel
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov is expected to attend the opening of his country's embassy in Israel at the end of March.
Like most of the embassies in the Jewish state, the Azerbaijani embassy will be located in Israel’s commercial center of Tel Aviv.
Bayramov is expected to arrive in Israel on March 29 to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and his counterpart, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. It will be the first visit by a senior Azerbaijani official to Israel in a decade.
Relations between Azerbaijan and Israel are unique. The Muslim-majority state is a neighbor of Iran, which openly calls for Israel’s destruction.
While Azerbaijani-Israeli relations have been warm, the nation has historically refrained from opening its embassy in Israel largely due to pressure from Iran’s ayatollah regime. However, as Azerbaijani-Iranian relations have deteriorated sharply, Azerbaijan relations with the Jewish state have become closer.
In November, Azerbaijan decided to open an embassy in Israel.
Roman Gourevich, honorary envoy of the Jewish Agency in Azerbaijan, welcomed the normalization of Azerbaijani-Israeli diplomatic ties.
“Azerbaijan is a tolerant Shiite Muslim country, in which there has never been anti-Semitism. The country has always respected the Jewish people and the warm relations between the two nations will only grow stronger if an embassy of Azerbaijan is opening up to Israel,” said Gourevich.
The establishment of full diplomatic relations will likely boost trade between the two countries. Israel is currently importing crude oil from Azerbaijan, while the Muslim state is importing military equipment from the Israel.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
