Foreign Minister Eli Cohen is expected to soon leave for Turkmenistan – the central Asian country that shares a long border with Iran – to officially inaugurate a permanent Israeli embassy in the capital city of Ashgabat.
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The embassy will be the closest official Israeli mission to an Iranian border, only some 12 miles away.
Turkmenistan, a Muslim-majority country, established relations with Israel in the run-up to its declaration of independence in 1991. About a decade ago, in light of good relations between the two states, Israel opened a temporary embassy there with a temporary structure, now permanent.
Head of Eurasia Bureau @AmbYuvalFuchs just returned from extensive consultations in Ashgabat where he met with the Deputy Foreign Ministers, Interior Affairs, Minister of Health & others, discussing intensification of bilateral relations with Turkmenistan ?? & regional issues. pic.twitter.com/fbzWIDzh24
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) March 2, 2023
The permanent building was built specifically for the to-be-inaugurated embassy, like the Israeli mission in Azerbaijan, which also shares a border with the Islamic Republic.
Over the years, Israeli and Turkmeni senior officials have visited each other's countries, signing agreements of cooperation in the fields of politics, economy, and energy. Recently, progress has been made in the collaboration of health and cyber defense.
Cohen's visit to Turkmenistan and the embassy's inauguration are intended to send a message to Iran that Israel is a present and growing influence in the region.
He told Israel Hayom that "relations between Israel and Turkmenistan are important and strategic, and are part of the activity aimed at strengthening relations with the entire region. We will continue to promote economic cooperation between the countries, among others in the fields of health and cyber defense.
"The inauguration of the embassy building is another sign of the strengthening of relations between Israel and Turkmenistan and marks the thirty years of the establishment of relations between countries," he said.
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
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