Azerbaijan being 1st Shi’ite Muslim country to open embassy in Israel
Azerbaijan will open an embassy in Israel, following parliamentary approval on Friday becoming the first country with a majority of Shi’ite Muslims.
The new embassy will be located in Tel Aviv, where the state already maintains a tourism office and a trade representative office, as The Jerusalem Post reported last month.
Israel has had diplomatic relations with Azerbaijan for 30 years, and since 1993, there has been an Israeli embassy in Baku.
Azerbaijan is “an important partner of Israel and home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the Muslim world,” according to Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who applauded the choice.
“The decision to open an embassy reflects the depth of the relations between the countries,” Lapid added.
“This move is the fruit of efforts by the Israeli government to build strong diplomatic bridges with the Muslim world.”
Just as Moscow’s aggressive policy has brought Ukraine closer to the West than ever, Tehran’s passive-aggressive behaviour is making Azerbaijan closer to Israel every single day.
Today, Azerbaijan decided to open an embassy in Israel, ending its decades-old “neutrality”.
— Shujaat Ahmadzada (@S_Ahmadzada) November 18, 2022
Israel-Azerbaijan relations:
In a letter sent earlier this year to mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Israel and Azerbaijan, President Isaac Herzog invited Aliyev to visit Israel and inaugurate an embassy.
Azerbaijan had previously been hesitant to establish an embassy, in part because it didn’t want to anger Iran or other Muslim-majority nations, but the Abraham Accords and the warming of relations between Israel and Turkey, in which Aliyev participated, have made those issues less pressing for the South Caucasus country.
As Azerbaijan to open embassy in Israel, Israel and Azerbaijan cooperate closely on defence matters.
According to reports from abroad, Jerusalem has provided drones to Baku, which were used in its conflict with Armenia.
Azerbaijan being 1st Shi’ite Muslim country to open embassy in Israel
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Israel accounted for 17% of Israel’s arms exports between 2016 and 2020, or 69% of Azerbaijan’s total imports of weapons.
Israel imports about 40% of its petroleum from Azerbaijan.
