Turkey, Israel pen civil aviation agreement to expand flights

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Turkey and Israel have signed a civil aviation agreement to expand mutual flights, the Prime Minister's Office of Israel announced today (July 7).

The agreement comes after Israel's PM Yaer Lapid's recent visit to Turkey.

The agreement is part of the decision to expand and develop bilateral relations that were made by Lapid and Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu at their meetings in Jerusalem and Ankara, said the PM's office.

"The initialing is a vital stage toward fully signing the aviation agreement, which is expected to allow Israeli airlines to resume flights to Turkey.

"Today's agreement initialed by the directors of the two countries' civil aviation authorities was made possible thanks to open and constructive negotiations in recent weeks and constitutes an important milestone in advancing bilateral relations."

Economic office

In a separate statement, Israel said it will reopen its economic and trade office in Turkey next month as relations began to improve between the two countries.

"The reopening of the economic attaché reflects Israel's commitment to deepening economic ties with Turkey," Economy Minister Orna Barbivai said.

"We intend to promote a joint economic conference between the countries, after more than a decade," she added.

Ohad Cohen, Head of the Foreign Trade Section at the Ministry of Economy, said Turkey is "a significant economy" for Israel's foreign trade.

"Today's exports to Turkey are concentrated and there is great potential for expansion. The potential inherent in the cooperation, for the benefit of the two countries," he said.

Cohen said the reopening of the economic office will benefit around 1540 Israeli companies that export to the Turkish market.

Tel Aviv and Ankara began to take steps to improve their relations fractured after Israeli forces stormed a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying humanitarian aid for Palestinians that broke aa years-long Israeli blockade on the Palestinian territory. The incident resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish activists.

According to Israeli figures, Turkey is the fourth most important trade partner for the Israeli economy.

Israel and Turkey signed a free trade agreement in 1997.  (SD/VK)