Delegates from Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Kuwait and the Palestinian Authority walked out of the hall on Thursday as President Isaac Herzog began his address to the summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, remained in the hall during the speech.
Herzog spoke at an expanded session of the seventh CICA summit that included representatives of several countries with no diplomatic ties to Israel. Turkey’s foreign minister and Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs were expected to attend, according to i24NEWS. Kuwait’s deputy foreign minister, the PA’s foreign minister and the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Indonesia to Azerbaijan were also expected.
In his speech, Herzog said that “divisions within the global community are deepening and trust in multilateral formats is declining,” and called CICA “an oasis of cooperation and partnership.” He noted that Israel has been part of the forum since its founding and said Israel wants to contribute to Asia in technology, science, innovation, digital connectivity and climate.
He also praised Azerbaijan, Israel’s close ally, saying that “under conditions of considerable pressure, Azerbaijan is taking important steps for international peace.”
Herzog flew to Baku on Tuesday on a scheduled Azerbaijan Airlines commercial flight, which crossed Turkish airspace, Türkiye Today reported. Turkey bars Israeli official flights from its airspace over the Gaza war, and in 2024 it refused to let Herzog’s plane cross its airspace on his way to the COP29 climate summit in Baku. Turkish officials said international aviation rules prevent them from requesting passenger lists for civilian flights.
Herzog met Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev after landing.
