Baku, July 3 (AzerTAc). Azerbaijan and Israel have discussed prospects for developing relations in the field of information as ambassador Rafael Harpaz visited Azerbaijan State Telegraph Agency (AzerTAc).
He met AzerTAc Director General Aslan Aslanov who spoke of the centuries-old ties between the two countries and nations, and underlined the role of news agencies “in taking these relations forward”.
He briefed the ambassador on Azerbaijan`s achievements in the years of independence, and the agency`s position in ensuring the government`s information policy.
Mr. Aslanov hailed the relations between Azerbaijan and Israel as close, saying the two countries were successfully cooperating in international organizations.
Mr. Aslanov underlined AzerTAc`s winning bids to host simultaneously the 16th General Assembly of the Organization of Asia Pacific News Agencies (OANA) and the 5th News Agencies World Congress in Baku in 2016.
He highlighted progress achieved in Azerbaijan in the field of ensuring the freedom of press. Mr. Aslanov said the information communication technologies had been developing at a rapid pace in the country`s regions across the last years, adding more than 70 percent of the Azerbaijani population were internet users.
Ambassador Harpaz praised development processes in Azerbaijan, stressing the importance of oil-gas and transport projects carried out under the country`s initiative.
The Israeli ambassador praised tolerance in Azerbaijan, saying he had never been to any country “with such tolerance like Azerbaijan”.
He said Azerbaijan was “a role model to the other countries in terms of its tolerance and, by the way, not just for Jews, but for any other religious or ethnic groups”.
On the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Israeli ambassador said his country supported Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity and the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group to solve the problem. Mr. Harpaz added that Israel supported settlement of the dispute in compliance with the norms of international law.