Israel and Azerbaijan Strengthen Ties Through Agriculture

Azerbaijan is particularly interested in Israeli agricultural technology.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

Israeli Minister of Agriculture Avi Dichter hosted his Azerbaijani counterpart Inim Karimov in Jerusalem on Monday.

Karimov and presidential advisor Shahmar Movsumov are leading a professional delegation which arrived on Monday for a three-day visit.

Although 37 percent of Azerbaijan’s population is engaged in the agriculture sector, its contribution to the GDP is less than six percent.

Azerbaijan is particularly interested in Israeli agricultural technology.

“We grow international cooperation – we grow agriculture! The meeting with the Minister of Agriculture from Azerbaijan, Inim Karimov, is another step to bring the countries closer together after the decision to open the embassy in Israel,” Dichter said.

In November, Azerbaijan’s National Assembly approved opening an embassy in Israel. The embassy, which is expected to open sometime this year, would be the first from a country with a Shi’ite Muslim majority. President Ilham Aliyev has already appointed veteran diplomat Mukhtar Mammadov to serve as ambassador.

Israel was one of the first countries to recognize Azerbaijani independence in 1991 and already has an embassy in Baku. An estimated 20,000 Jews in the Caucasus region country.

Azerbaijan shares a border with Iran and relations between the two countries are tense. On Jan. 27, a gunman attacked the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran, killing the embassy’s security chief and injuring two others. Baku blames Iran for the attack.

Iran has accused Azerbaijan of maintaining a secret military alliance with Israel and allowing Israeli soldiers to be stationed along the 765 km border.

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