Azerbaijani president, Israeli defence chief discuss military-technical cooperation

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Minister of Defense of the State of Israel Yoav Gallant.

Yoav Gallant conveyed Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu`s greetings to the head of state, Azertag reports.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked for the greetings and asked Yoav Gallant to communicate his greetings to the Prime Minister of Israel.

During the conversation, a meeting between the President of Azerbaijan and the Defense Minister of Israel, which took place in Munich this year, was recalled.

They hailed the development of bilateral relations, including cooperation in the military-technical area. The sides noted the role of Israeli President Isaac Herzog`s visit to Azerbaijan in developing bilateral ties.

They also stressed the importance of opening the embassy of Azerbaijan in Israel in terms of expanding cooperation.

Azerbaijan has been one of the major importers of defence products from Israel for many years. In 2014-2018 and 2018-2022, according to data compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the second-largest importer of Israel-made arms was Azerbaijan. In 2016-2020, the purchases from Israel, one of the world’s top eight arms exporters, made up 69 per cent of Azerbaijan’s arms imports.

In 2016, President Aliyev revealed that the contracts between Azerbaijan and Israeli companies with respect to purchasing defence equipment were close to $5 billion.

Among the major arms supplied by Israel are loitering munitions, reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), guided missiles, and ballistic missiles produced by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Elbit, Rafael, and other Israeli defence companies.

Azerbaijani authorities confirmed the use of Israeli-made “suicide” drones in the 2020 war with Armenia in the Karabakh region, the internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

Harop loitering munitions, known also as “kamikaze drones,” have reportedly had a great impact on giving the Azerbaijani army a clear edge over Armenia’s troops on the battlefields. Azerbaijani forces were also seen deploying the Israeli-made LORA operational-tactical missile system during the war.