Israel welcomes Azerbaijan's historic decision to open embassy in Tel Aviv

The Israeli government welcomed the "historic" decision by the Azerbaijani Parliament to open an embassy in Tel Aviv, as it is set to become the first Shia Muslim-majority country to send a top-rank diplomatic mission to the Jewish state.

"I welcome the decision by the National Assembly of Azerbaijan to open an embassy in Israel. Azerbaijan is an important partner of Israel and home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the Muslim world," Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement on Friday.

The decision reflects the depth of the relationship between the two countries and "is the result of the Israeli government's efforts to build strong diplomatic bridges with the Muslim world", the statement noted.

Israel has an embassy in Baku, the Azerbaijani capital.

In June 2021, the media of the two countries reported the opening of Azerbaijani trade and tourism offices in Tel Aviv, which came almost 30 years after the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992.

The website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan highlighted high-level exchanges between leaders of the two states in the last several years, Jewish socio-cultural and charity organisations in the country, as well as bilateral deals in various fields.

In early October, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz made an official visit to Azerbaijan to discuss diplomatic and security issues.

--IANS

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