In an interview with the Trend news agency published on April 19, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said that Azerbaijan and Israel would sign new agreements in the fields of innovation, cyber security, and education.

"I came from Israel to Azerbaijan with the largest delegation in the history [of bilateral relations]. Relations between Azerbaijan and Israel are strategic. Therefore, after opening the embassy in Israel, I decided to come to your beautiful country. Good relations between countries are primarily based on good relations between the people of Azerbaijan and the people of Israel. I want to emphasize again our deep gratitude to the Azerbaijani people for all their attitude towards the Jewish community, which has been living in Azerbaijan for centuries. This forms a good basis for relations," the head of the Israeli diplomacy added.

Cohen noted that Israel and Azerbaijan are actively cooperating in the fields of economy, tourism, and security. "We consider Azerbaijan as a strategic partner. Trade relations will certainly expand. I am here to realize this potential and further strengthen the relationship between the two countries. We will sign agreements in the areas of innovation, cybersecurity, and education. Our governments have set a goal to strengthen bilateral cooperation. My goal is to take the relationship to a higher level; we are working on it. I am sure that we will see the fruits of the upcoming business forum," the minister summed up.

Meeting with the Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan

On April 18, a meeting was held in Baku between Mikayil Jabbarov, the co-chairmen of the Joint Commission between the Government of Azerbaijan and the Government of Israel and the Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel Eli Cohen.

According to the Ministry of Economy, Minister Mikayil Jabbarov emphasized high-level relations between Azerbaijan and Israel. "The opening of Azerbaijan's embassy in Israel shows that bilateral relations have reached a new stage. The Joint Commission between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the State of Israel, as well as the Trade Representative Office of Azerbaijan in Israel, are important platforms for the development of partnership between our countries. Our countries continue to work towards strengthening economic and trade cooperation. Mutual investment with Israel also includes energy, agriculture, IT, innovation, pharmaceuticals, tourism, etc. There is effective cooperation in the fields. Last year, active work was carried out in the direction of expanding relations between our business circles. Work on the realization of joint investment projects with Israeli companies continues. Partnerships are also made with Israeli companies in industrial zones and agricultural parks, water management, and other areas. "Cooperation with Israel in the field of innovative development and digital economy is particularly important for Azerbaijan," Jabbarov noted.

It is reported that the Minister of Economy also informed about the favorable business environment of Azerbaijan, the construction projects implemented in the liberated areas, the activity of industrial zones, and the possibilities of the Alat Free Economic Zone. At the meeting, discussions were held on the current situation and prospects of relations between the two countries.

Eli Cohen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel, noted that his country attaches importance to expanding relations with Azerbaijan and that Israeli companies are interested in partnerships in various fields and emphasized ample opportunities for strengthening cooperation.

Meeting with Ilham Aliyev

On April 19, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received Eli Cohen.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Twitter, "I had a great meeting with the President of Azerbaijan. We discussed the fight against terrorism, the expansion of security, and economic cooperation between countries. I congratulated the President on the decision to open an embassy in Israel, the first embassy of a Shia Muslim country. This shows the high respect of the State of Israel in the world."

In turn, the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan released official information about the meeting. It was noted in the information that President Ilham Aliyev highly appreciated Azerbaijan-Israel relations and said that there are good political relations between the two countries. During the meeting, President Ilham Aliyev assessed the opening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Israel as an indicator of the high level of relations and emphasized that these relations are based on friendship, mutual trust, respect, and support. According to the official information, President Ilham Aliyev stated that the process of modernization of the economy had been successfully implemented in Azerbaijan and noted the importance of exchanging experience in the field of technologies, including green energy, smart city, and smart village concepts. In addition, Ilham Aliyev informed about the conditions created in the Alat Free Economic Zone. He said there are good opportunities for Israeli companies to operate here and develop new projects.

The information also emphasized the importance of considering SOCAR's participation in exploiting hydrocarbon resources in Israel.

In turn, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel highly appreciated the opening of Azerbaijan's embassy in Israel and expressed hope that it would contribute to the establishment of strategic relations between the countries. He emphasized that relations between Israel and Azerbaijan are strategic. "Emphasizing that he visited Azerbaijan with a large delegation, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel touched on our relations in the field of tourism and noted that the number of tourists coming to Azerbaijan from his country is increasing. He said that the rate of growth of the trade turnover between our countries is observed and stated that there are ample opportunities to increase it further", the information reads.

At the meeting, it was emphasized that there are vast opportunities for developing cooperation in the fields of economy, energy, agriculture, renewable energy, investments, science, education, culture, tourism, security, and other areas. It was also noted that Israel's experience in the fields of water resources management and desalination of seawater, prevention of desertification, and development of agriculture in the desert and semi-desert conditions is interesting for Azerbaijan.