The first Ambassador of Azerbaijan in Israel visits HIT 

H.E. Mukhtar Mammadov, the first Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Israel, visited HIT Holon Institute of Technology.

photo: Doron Masarano

Only 3 months after the opening of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Israel, H.E. Mukhtar Mammadov, the newly appointed Ambassador, arrived for his first visit to an Israeli academic institution, the first in 31 years of diplomatic relations. He chose HIT in light of the warm relationship that exists between the Institute and Azerbaijan.
 
The Ambassador was welcomed by the President, Prof. Eduard Yakubov, the Vice President for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Internationalization, Dr. Refael Barkan, as well as the senior administration.

At the beginning of the visit, HIT's President provided an overview of HIT’s activities, stating: "We are delighted with the collaboration with Baku State University. In addition, we are proud to be part of other ventures with Azerbaijan like the cooperation with the Azeri Ministry of Health on topics in digital medicine."

Ambassador Mammadov remarked that "The collaboration with HIT is extremely successful and it is clear that you have opened the door to an extensive academic partnership that we hope will continue and grow with additional institutions in Israel". 

The Ambassador's visit attests to the strong relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan, which was reflected in several visits by senior Israeli officials to Baku, led by the country's President, Isaac (Boji) Herzog, as well as the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Eli Cohen. A delegation from HIT which included the Chairman of the Executive Committee, Prof. Adir Pridor, HIT's President, Prof. Eduard Yakubov, the Vice-President for Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Internationalization Dr. Refael Barkan and HIT's CEO Shmuel Goldberg, traveled to Baku, to take part in several events, especially the convocation ceremony for students who completed their studies at HIT.
 
The relations between Israel and Azerbaijan have been ongoing for over 3 decades, focusing on several areas such as hgher education, digital health, agriculture, water technologies, environment, and more. 

George Dick, Israel's Ambassador to Baku, said:” The relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan is a strategic, but until now, it has been based mainly on energy and security. The embassy has been working in recent years to diversify the relationship to include topics such as economy, education and culture.
 
The academic cooperation between HIT and its partners in Azerbaijan, contributes to this effort and strengthens Israel's position as an international academic, research and innovation center, resulting in deeper relations with Azerbaijan. "Azerbaijan and Israel have had full diplomatic relations since 1992. Israel has an embassy in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, since 1993. Israel has maintained a close commercial relationship with Azerbaijan since the 1990’s, mainly in the fields of energy, agriculture, and security, for example "Algadcom", the Israeli company which was the first cellular network in a Euro-Asian country.
 
It is worth noting that HIT has pioneered close academic relations with Eurasian countries, and other Israeli higher education institutions are following in its footsteps. The President of HIT, Prof. Eduard Yakubov, was invited along with other senior Israeli officials, including the Minister of Intelligence, Gila Gamaliel, to take part in Azerbaijan's Independence Day celebrations, organized by the Azeri Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Mukhtar Mammadov.