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By Trend

The opening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Israel will give a great impetus to the development of economic relations between the two countries.

Israeli statesman and politician, member of the Knesset, chairman of the Likud faction in the 18th Knesset, chairman of the parliamentary coalition Zeev Elkin has told a local media outlet, Azernews reports.

"I have been supporting the development of relations between Israel and Azerbaijan for many years. At one time, when I was still working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we discussed the road map with the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. When I headed the intergovernmental commission for cooperation, we discussed the process of opening an embassy in Israel, as The Embassy of Israel in Azerbaijan was opened a long time ago and it was important for us that Azerbaijan opened its embassy in Israel. This reflects the level of special relations between our countries. Israel has a large community of immigrants from Azerbaijan and the opening of the embassy was important for them. I am sure that the opening of the embassy will give a new impetus to further strengthening relations between countries, facilitate the technical issues related to tourism, and give a great impetus to the development of economic relations.It is important for the business world to contact the ambassador and this always helps to promote economic relations.In this context, and The visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen to Azerbaijan, accompanied by a business delegation, also became an additional step towards strengthening relations between our countries, to bring them to a new level both in the economy and in the foreign policy field," he said.

Elkin also expressed confidence that relations in the field of tourism will also develop at a faster pace.

"There is a large community of people from Azerbaijan in Israel, and they visit the places where they grew up, where their friends and relatives stayed. This is the first factor that contributes to the development of tourism. Secondly, there is an interest in Israel in general to the South Caucasus region. For example, Georgia is a very popular country among tourists from Israel and in recent years, tourism relations between the two countries have been actively developing. And I am sure that Azerbaijan has a lot to offer Israeli tourists.Of course, I think that for Azerbaijani tourists Israel is one one of the most interesting countries in the world, which is the center of three religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. There are a lot of holy places and historical sites. When there is an embassy, it is much easier to develop tourism. When citizens come, they know that they have someone to turn to, i.e. there is an embassy of their country. This also always serves as an additional impetus for the development of tourism," he said.

Speaking about investment opportunities, the Knesset member stressed that the gas sector, which is currently developing in Israel, may be attractive for investors from Azerbaijan, as the country has experience.

"There may be other areas for investment cooperation. This is also evident from the potential for trade turnover, which, if such rates continue, could reach $ 2 billion. This is a very serious indicator, given that Israel is a small country. This shows that there is great economic potential, and I have no doubt that it can be realized," Elkin added.

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