Israel and Azerbaijan: Good relations and future prospects

Relations between Azerbaijan and Israel from the very beginning, when this state recognized Azerbaijan’s independence on December 25, 1991, have always developed in a positive way. But in the last few years, they have seen a special dynamic: strengthening cooperation, increasing the number of mutual visits, growing trade and investment, identifying new industries for interaction, etc.

The opening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Israel marked the beginning of a new page in bilateral relations. At a recent meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, the president of Azerbaijan noted that this event is ‘a sign of the high level of relations’ between the two countries.

The policy of Israeli President Isaac Herzog also gave a strategic character to bilateral relations: since he came to power, relations with Azerbaijan have been developing exponentially. It is gratifying that the president of Israel is demonstrating to the whole world how strong the relations formed 30 years ago are.

Attaching importance to this aspect, Herzog noted the role and contribution of national leader Heydar Aliyev to bilateral relations by posting on Twitter.

President @Isaac_Herzog congratulated the Republic of Azerbaijan on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Heydar Aliyev: pic.twitter.com/mr8Q8NedSL

— Office of the President of Israel (@IsraelPresident) May 10, 2023

Azerbaijan felt the support of Israel both during the Second Karabakh War and the next stage - during the period of restoration of the liberated territories.

Israeli Ambassador to Azerbaijan George Deek said in an interview with Report that an Israeli company has built a dairy farm in the smart village of Agali in the Zangilan district.

“Other projects that we are involved or discussing to participate in there are in the field of water management, renewable energy, security and agriculture. We tell the counterparts from Azerbaijan “you tell us where you need us, and we will be there,” said the ambassador.

In addition, after the Second Karabakh War, the Azerbaijani YASAT Foundation invited ophthalmologists from Israel, and doctors regularly monitored patients. They performed operations and carried out post-operative care absolutely free of charge. Israeli doctors operated on more than 150 Azerbaijani war veterans.

Of no small importance are the high indicators of economic interaction, which demonstrate the rapidly developing ties between the business communities and companies of the two countries.

According to the latest data for January-April 2023, the trade turnover between Israel and Azerbaijan exceeded $500 million, there is an increase of 33.5 percent compared to January-April 2022. As for investments, there is also an upswing: in July 2022, the Azerbaijan Investment Company and the Israeli company OurCrowd, the leading global crowdfunding platform, signed an investment agreement.

In February this year, Azerbaijan’s Economy Ministry announced that the first investments in the amount of $1 million had already been made from the Azerbaijani side, in particular, in the Israeli startup LARGIX, which specializes in the development of industrial products.

The main areas of cooperation are energy, trade, infrastructure and high technology. Azerbaijan is an important supplier of oil to Israel, which contributes to the diversification and energy security of this country. Two years ago, the share of Azerbaijani oil in deliveries to Israel was about 30%, last year it is almost 40%.

Tourism, energy, agriculture, medicine, cybersecurity - this is not the whole list of areas of cooperation between the two countries.

The multi-vector approach in the policies of both the president of Israel and the president of Azerbaijan to expand cooperation in new areas speaks of the inexhaustible potential that exists in relations between the two countries. One such area is the use of renewable energy sources. Azerbaijan began to actively use renewable energy in the liberated territories, and Israel expressed its readiness to share its experience in this area.

Israel is also seeking to normalize relations with Türkiye. On March 9, 2022, President Herzog met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, which is considered the time of the resumption of relations between Israel and Türkiye, which have been practically frozen since 2010. Now both countries have restored diplomatic relations, which indicates their intentions to take steps towards cooperation.

Multilateralism, mutual respect, friendship - this is how relations between Azerbaijan and Israel can now be characterized. Thanks to the leaders of both countries, relations are now at a high level in all areas, and the planned visit of the Israeli president to Azerbaijan will bring them to a new, more stable level.