Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.22
By Anakhanum Khidayatova - Trend:
Azerbaijan and Israel closely cooperate in the political and economic spheres based on the mutual respect, Israeli Ambassador to Azerbaijan Rafael Harpaz told reporters Apr.22.
He made the remarks during the event dedicated to the 67th anniversary of Israel's independence.
"We closely cooperate in the sphere of energy and want to expand these relations," said the ambassador. "The sides also develop the cooperation in the spheres of telecommunications, science, tourism, medical and water technologies and agriculture."
The diplomat said Israel will also participate in the First European Games in Baku.
Furthermore, Harpaz said that Israel's new government will be formed in two weeks and following this, it will be possible to arrange high-level visits.
The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Israel stood at $182.7 million in Jan.-March 2015, according to Azerbaijan's State Customs Committee. This is while $177.9 million accounted for the export from Azerbaijan.
Touching upon the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Rafael Harpaz said that Israel is also located in a conflict zone. "We are confident that the conflict should be resolved through peaceful means. We support the efforts of OSCE Minsk Group on resolving the conflict and support Azerbaijan's territorial integrity."
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
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