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Opening of Azerbaijani Embassy to give great impetus to dev't of economic ties between Azerbaijan, Israel – Knesset member

Israel Materials 24 April 2023 14:09 (UTC +04:00)
Opening of Azerbaijani Embassy to give great impetus to dev't of economic ties between Azerbaijan, Israel – Knesset member
Laman Zeynalova
Laman Zeynalova
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 24. The opening of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Israel will give a great impetus to the development of economic relations between the two countries, Ze'ev Elkin, Member of the Knesset, Chairman of the National Unity Party of the 25th Knesset, told Trend.

"I have been supporting the development of relations between Israel and Azerbaijan for many years. At one time, when I was still working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we discussed the road map with the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. When I headed the Azerbaijan-Israel intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation, we discussed the process of opening an embassy in Israel, and its implementation process. The Israeli Embassy in Azerbaijan has been open for a long time and it was significant for us that Azerbaijan opened its embassy in Israel. This reflects the level of special relations between our countries," the politician highlighted.

Elkin also said that there is a large community of Azerbaijani immigrants in Israel and the opening of an embassy was important for them as well. He is sure that the opening of the embassy will give a new impetus to the further strengthening of relations between the countries, will facilitate technical issues related to tourism, and will give a great impetus to the development of economic ties.

"It is important for the business world to contact the ambassador because it always helps to promote economic relations. In this context, the visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen to Azerbaijan, accompanied by a business delegation, also became an additional step towards enhancing relations between our countries and bringing them to a new level both in the economic and foreign policy spheres. Also, Mikhail Sutovsky, Vice Mayor of one of the main Israeli cities of Holon, Chairman of Board of the Israeli-Azerbaijani Business Council, with whom we have long-standing personal relations and successful mutual cooperation in the socio-political sphere, joined the delegation," he added.

Elkin also expressed confidence that relations in the tourism sector will also develop at a faster pace and added that he is confident that Azerbaijan has a lot to offer Israeli tourists.

"There is a large community of Azerbaijani immigrants in Israel, and they visit the places where they grew up, where their friends and relatives stayed. This is the first factor that promotes the development of tourism. Secondly, Israel has an interest in the South Caucasus region as a whole. For instance, Georgia is a very popular country among tourists from Israel, and in recent years tourist relations between the two countries have been actively developing. Certainly, I believe that for Azerbaijani tourists Israel is one of the most interesting countries in the world, which is the center of three religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. And there are a lot of holy places and historical sights to visit here, which is much easier with an embassy's presence," the Israeli politician said.

Speaking about investment opportunities, the Knesset member pointed out that the gas sector, which is currently evolving in Israel, may be attractive to investors from Azerbaijan since the country has experience.

"There may be other areas for investment cooperation, for example, the potential of trade turnover, which could reach $2 billion if such rates continue. This is a very serious figure considering that Israel is a small country. This shows that there is great economic potential, and I have no doubt that it will be possible to fulfill it," Elkin concluded.

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