Turkey, Israel Pledge to ‘Expand Economic and Civil Cooperation,’ But No Mention of Restoring Envoys
26.05.2022 09:18
Turkey, Israel Pledge to ‘Expand Economic and Civil Cooperation,’ But No Mention of Restoring Envoys
During a rare visit to Israel on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu pledged to improve relations between the two countries. He was the first senior Turkish official to visit Jerusalem in 15 years.
"We are determined to increase our trade volume and economic cooperation. It is mutually beneficial," Çavuşoğlu said, calling it “very promising” that their bilateral trade surpassed $8 billion last year.
"We agreed to bring new synergy to our bilateral relations in many fields and establish different mechanisms from now on," he added.
Çavuşoğlu’s counterpart, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, praised the meeting, noting that the two nations had always managed to stay friendly ever since Turkey became the first Muslim nation to recognize Israel’s existence in 1949.
We won’t pretend that our relationship has not seen its ups and downs. But we remember that Turkey was the first Muslim nation to recognize Israel, back in 1949. And we have always known how to return to dialogue and cooperation. pic.twitter.com/m2P4VU110t
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid