Israel’s President Isaac Herzog met in Baku on Wednesday with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani during his attendance at the seventh summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
These meetings, of importance for Israel, come amid a number of diplomatic and other recent successes, such as Colombia inaugurating its embassy in Jerusalem. Colombia’s Foreign Minister Omar Bula Escobar came to Israel for the event. Additionally, on October 8, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Paraguay's Vice President, Pedro Alliana, in Jerusalem.
These are historic days for the Jewish state. Three years after the October 7 attacks, Israel is increasing its engagement with several countries. This comes as the media discusses whether fighting will resume against the Islamic Republic. In this context, the meetings between Herzog and the president of Azerbaijan, as well as Bahrain’s foreign minister, are important. Azerbaijan is a rising power in the Caucasus, with influence that extends to Europe, Central Asia, and beyond. It also borders Iran.
Bahrain is an important Gulf country. It joined the Abraham Accords in 2020. About the Wednesday meeting between Herzog and Aliyev, the President’s Office, in a statement distributed by Israel’s Government press Office, noted that Herzog had attended the summit “at the invitation of President Aliyev” and that he “thanked President Aliyev for the warm welcome and noted that Azerbaijan is a model of stability and an important and respected voice in the international community.”
Azerbaijan is an important country for many reasons
The leaders looked at “ways to deepen the strategic relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan, which is rooted in mutual respect, shared interests, and the deep historical ties between the two peoples. They also discussed recent regional developments and their countries’ shared commitment to stability and security in the region.”
Azerbaijan is strategically important: It has been reaching out to Syria recently, and it is a close friend of Turkey’s. Turkey has tended to be critical of Israel; and Israel has concerns about Turkey’s role in Syria. Baku can potentially play an important role in reducing tensions between the two.
Herzog’s office noted that “President Aliyev thanked President Herzog for his words of appreciation regarding Azerbaijan’s chairmanship of CICA, and emphasized that his country continues to work to strengthen mutual trust among CICA member states and to advance practical cooperation between them.”
Herzog said, “Israel and Azerbaijan share a unique relationship, one that has been developed over many years and has proven its importance in complex times as well. I thank President Ilham Aliyev for our partnership and for the open dialogue between us, and I believe we have much more to achieve together: strengthening the ties between our peoples, expanding our cooperation, and creating new opportunities for generations to come.”
In the meeting with Bahrain, Herzog also brought up the importance of strengthening the Abraham Accords. The October 7 massacre and the ensuing Israel-Hamas War created a backdrop against which it was difficult for expansion of the accords to take place. Currently, though, there are many opportunities.
“President Herzog emphasized the great importance Israel attaches to its relations with the Kingdom of Bahrain and commended the courageous leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the Government of Bahrain. The President conveyed his warmest wishes to His Majesty the King and the Bahraini people,” Herzog’s office said.
The important relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan
It is worth recalling the important relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan that has developed over the last decades. They established diplomatic relations in April 1992, shortly after Azerbaijan gained independence, following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The relationship expanded over the years: Energy trade and defense sales have been important building blocks. Azerbaijan has become a modern military power and has showcased Israeli defense technology during events in the past. In 2023, Azerbaijan opened an embassy in Israel. George Deek played a key role as ambassador to Azerbaijan from 2018 to 2025.
Bahrain-Israel ties are also important, though less in the spotlight than Israel-UAE ties or even Israel-Morocco ties. However, Bahrain is an important part of the Abraham Accords. It is a cautious country, and this caution means it is not often in the spotlight in the Gulf. However, it has also suffered from threats during the recent Iran conflict. Israel opened an embassy in Manama in 2021, following the signing of the Abraham Accords. Its first ambassador, Eitan Na’eh, was a former ambassador to Azerbaijan and Turkey – as well as Israel’s first envoy to the United Arab Emirates in 2021. (He died of a heart attack in January.)
There has been cooperation between Israel and Bahrain in recent years.
The meetings in Baku are important in terms of the larger regional context. Israeli defense companies also had a major role at the Marrakesh Air Show this week in Morocco. As such, there is a growing perception that Israeli ties with various Muslim countries are now improving and have become more public than they were in the past several years.