AZERBAIJAN, April 19 - President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel, co-chair of the Joint Commission, Eli Cohen.

Hailing Azerbaijan-Israel relations, the head of state noted that the two countries enjoy good political ties. President Ilham Aliyev described the opening of the embassy of Azerbaijan in Israel as a sign of the high level of relations and emphasized that these ties are based on friendship, mutual trust, respect and support. Saying that the bilateral cooperation agenda is expanding, the head of state specifically stressed the Joint Commission's activity between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the State of Israel and expressed hope that it would contribute to the diversification of relations.

Underlining that the process of modernization of the economy is successfully implemented in Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev noted the importance of exchanging experience in the field of technologies, including green energy, smart city and smart village concepts. The head of state highlighted the conditions in the Alat Free Economic Zone, noting good opportunities for Israeli companies to operate here and develop new projects. The importance of considering the possibilities of SOCAR's participation in exploiting hydrocarbon resources in Israel was also emphasized.

The Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs hailed the Azerbaijan embassy opening in his country, expressing hope that it would contribute to strategic relations between the two nations. The Minister expressed his gratitude for opening the embassy and underlined that the Israel-Azerbaijan relations are strategic by nature. Eli Cohen pointed out that friendly relations exist between the two states and the peoples of both countries.

The Foreign Minister of Israel underlined that he is accompanied by a large delegation and touched upon bilateral relations in the tourism sector, saying the number of Israeli tourists visiting Azerbaijan is on an upward trend. He noted that the trade turnover between the two countries has been on the rise, adding that there were ample opportunities for increasing it even more.

Significant opportunities for the development of cooperation in economy, energy, agriculture, renewable energy, investments, science, education, culture, tourism, security and other fields were stressed at the meeting. It was noted that Azerbaijan is interested in Israel’s experience in water resource management, seawater desalination, desertification prevention, and desert and semi-desert farming.