The Turkish Foreign Minister referred to the normalization of bilateral relations, Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid, who met on Wednesday in Jerusalem, as part of the first official visit of a Turkish foreign minister to the country in 15 years.[/B][/B] The two ministers made joint statements, which were not made in front of reporters.
Yair Lapid said that "we will not pretend that our relations have not known good and bad times. But at the same time, we have always known how to resume communication and cooperation with each other. Peoples with a long history know how to close chapters along the way and how to open new ones." Elsewhere in his remarks, the Israeli Foreign Minister said that "we expect to see progress not only in our bilateral political relations but also in our economic relations. Our goal is to expand economic cooperation and to cultivate relations in additional other areas. We have agreed to renew the functioning of the joint committee on economic affairs and to start working together in order to conclude a new air linkage agreement."
For his part, Mevlut Cavusoglu said that "Turkey and Israel are on the same pace with the aim of normalizing and reviving bilateral relations," specifying that "we agreed to implement new synergies in many fields and from now on to establish new cooperation mechanisms." Referring to Turkey's economic relations with Israel, he noted that the volume of trade last year exceeded $8 billion, adding that the two countries are determined to increase their trade since it is beneficial for both parties. Finally, he expressed hope that the tourist flow from Israel to Turkey would increase.
Before holding his meeting with his Israeli counterpart at the Israeli Foreign Ministry headquarters in Jerusalem, Mevlut Cavusoglu toured the Jewish Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem.
The Turkish Foreign Minister's schedule on Wednesday includes a visit to the Old City of Jerusalem and a pilgrimage to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. During his stay in the Old City, Cavusoglu will not be accompanied by Israeli security. He will then meet with Israeli Tourism Minister Yoel Rajvozov and in the late afternoon will meet with representatives of associations of Turkish Jews permanently residing in Israel.
The reassignment of a Turkish ambassador to Tel Aviv and an Israeli ambassador to Ankara was not announced, nor was a timeframe set for the normalization of bilateral diplomatic relations. Mevlut Cavusoglu was not accompanied by Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez, as announced by the Turkish side at the end of last March.
Source: CNA
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