President Erdoğan, Israel’s Herzog talk over phone

ANKARA

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over the phone to congratulate him on Eid al-Adha on July 7, during which they also addressed the Türkiye-Israel relations and regional matters, the Turkish presidency has said.

Erdoğan, for his part, wished for the holy days of Eid to bring peace and tranquility to the two countries, the region and the whole world, the statement by the presidency said.

Erdoğan and Herzog agreed on enhancing the bilateral relations between the two countries with concrete steps based on mutual sensitivities and through a positive agenda, it added.

The phone call came after Türkiye and Israel signed a bilateral aviation agreement on July 7 in a bid to multiply direct flights and as part of ongoing normalization efforts between the two nations. “The agreement is expected to result in the resumption of flights by Israeli companies to a variety of destinations in Turkey, alongside flights by Turkish companies to Israel,” the Israeli Transportation Ministry said.

Talks for the aviation agreement came to the agenda in direct talks between Turkish and Israeli officials, including Erdoğan and Herzog, who paid an official visit to Ankara in March. Since then, the foreign ministers of the two sides exchanged visits and agreed to launch a process for the appointment of ambassadors.

In the meantime, Israel will reopen its trade office in Istanbul, and the office will resume its works by Aug 1, according to a statement by Israeli Economy Minister Orna Barbival. Around 1,540 Israeli companies operate in Türkiye, and the reopening of the trade office will bring about momentum to the bilateral economic activities, the minister stressed.