Herzog Meets Aliyev in Baku at CICA Summit

Israel's President Isaac Herzog held talks on Wednesday with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the Presidential Palace in Baku. Herzog was in the Azerbaijani capital for the seventh summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA). Both presidents stated their intention to further strengthen bilateral relations and expand cooperation in the years ahead.

Aliyev is hosting the gathering of Asian leaders. During their meeting, the two leaders explored ways to deepen the strategic partnership between Israel and Azerbaijan and exchanged views on recent developments in the region.

Herzog thanked his host for the warm welcome he received.

"Israel and Azerbaijan share a unique relationship, one that has been developed over many years and has proven its importance in complex times as well. The friendship between our countries is of deep value, and we are committed to continuing to nurture it," Herzog said.

Herzog also thanked Aliyev "for our partnership and for the open dialogue between us." He stated that the two countries had "much more to achieve together," including closer ties between their peoples and broader cooperation.

Aliyev thanked Herzog for his words of appreciation regarding Azerbaijan's chairmanship of CICA. He stressed his country's ongoing efforts to build mutual trust among the organization's member states and to advance practical cooperation between them.

Azerbaijan maintains particularly close ties with both Turkey and Israel, as well as with its neighbor Iran. i24NEWS noted that the strategic partnership between Israel and Azerbaijan dates back to Azerbaijan's war of independence, when Israel provided it with the arms it needed to secure its territory. Azerbaijan has in turn supplied a large portion of Israel's oil.