Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and his visiting Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday they were hoping to expand economic ties between their countries as they seek an end to more than a decade of strained relations.
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Cavusoglu is on the second-day of a landmark two-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, the first such visit by a senior Turkish official in 15 years.
"The goal is to form and expand economic and civil cooperation between our countries," Yair Lapid said in joint press conference alongside Cavusoglu in Jerusalem, "and to leverage our two countries' comparative advantages regionally and globally, even during the pandemic, and even in times of political tension."
The two added that officials would begin working on a new civil aviation agreement.
Jerusalem and Ankara have been working to mend their long-strained ties, with energy emerging as a key area for potential cooperation. The two countries expelled ambassadors in 2018 and have often traded barbs over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"We believe that normalization of our ties will also have a positive impact on the peaceful resolution of the conflict. Turkey is ready to take responsibility to continue the efforts toward dialogue," Cavusoglu said.
The Turkish foreign minister is due to visit the flashpoint Temple Mount, the scene of recent clashes between Palestinian rioters and Israeli forces, on Wednesday. Cavusoglu is said to have discussed the events with Lapid.
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