The Israeli foreign minister arrives in Turkmenistan to open the Israeli embassy
On Wednesday evening, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen arrived in Turkmenistan to open the Israeli embassy in Ashgabat, in a visit that is the first of its kind in 29 years.
“I landed in Turkmenistan on a historic visit, 29 years after the last visit of an Israeli minister here,” Cohen wrote on Twitter.
He added, “I came to open an Israeli embassy 17 kilometers from the border with Iran, and to hold a series of meetings with the president and other officials”.
Cohen added, “Relations with Turkmenistan are of great security and political importance, and this visit will strengthen the status of the State of Israel in the region”.
Cohen will meet with President Sardar Berdymukhamedov and inaugurate the permanent building of the Israeli embassy.
Cohen is expected to meet during his visit with Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov and leaders of the Jewish community in Turkmenistan.
Shimon Peres was the last Israeli foreign minister to visit Turkmenistan in 1994, three years after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Israel had an ambassador in Ashgabat for more than a decade, but he continued to work from hotels and temporary offices.
