Israeli envoy tours regions to deepen economic cooperation

Azerbaijan and Israel have discussed the prospects for future cooperation in various areas, after Israeli ambassador to Azerbaijan Dan Stav visited the regions of Khachmaz, Shabran and Khizi.

The diplomat held meetings with the heads of the executive authorities of these regions and discussed the possibilities for developing cooperation in the spheres of economy, agriculture and tourism.

During the talks, the ambassador noted the important role of the Jewish community in Azerbaijan as a bridge between the two countries, and also stressed the deep traditions of multiculturalism in Azerbaijan.

Dan Stav also visited large factories operating in Khachmaz and Shabran, where he considered possibilities of Israeli investments in the regional projects.

Azerbaijan is one of the few Muslim countries which maintains deep political, diplomatic and economic ties with Israel.

Despite being a Muslim majority country, Azerbaijan is a home to a big Jewish community. The country’s northern region of Guba is home to Azerbaijan's largest community of Mountain Jews, who live in Krasnaya Sloboda (Red Town).

The two countries cooperate not only in the trade and economic spheres (Israel imports Azerbaijani oil through the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline), but also have broad interactions in the military and military-technical fields.

During the recent visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in mid-December, the two countries signed agreements on standardization, double taxation and agricultural cooperation.

In general, Israel is in the tenth place in terms of Azerbaijan's trade turnover with other countries. In the first 10 months of 2016, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $471,143 million.

Exports from Azerbaijan to Israel during the reporting period amounted to $457,799 million, or 6.36 percent of total exports. And imports to Azerbaijan amounted to $13,343 million, 0.19 percent of total imports into the country. (azernews.az)