Türkiye, Israel to sign aviation deal, first since 1951

ISTANBUL

Türkiye and Israel will sign a bilateral aviation agreement 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 Türkiye, alongside flights by Turkish companies to Israel,” the Israeli Transportation Ministry said in a statement on July 7.

The two sides’ technical teams have been in talks for the past few months for the aviation deal that will pave the way for Israeli carries to fly to various Turkish destinations, mostly to tourist resorts.

The agreement will be first since 1951, the Israeli media reported. The two countries are also aiming to increase cooperation in relation to tourism and this deal is expected to create further opportunities to this end.

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

In the meantime, Israel will re-open its Trade Office in Istanbul, the daily Hürriyet reported on July 7. According to a statement by Israeli Economy Minister Orna Barbival, the office will resume its works by Aug 1. Some 1,540 Israeli companies operate in Türkiye, the reopening of the trade office will bring about momentum to the bilateral economic activities, the minister stressed.

Trade volume between the two countries increased 30 percent in 2021 and hit $7.7 billion.