On July 23, Minister of Internal Affairs, Colonel-General Vilayat Eyvazov received a delegation headed by Yair Kulas, the Director of Department of the Ministry of Defense of the State of Israel which is on a visit to our country.
Having welcomed the guests, the Minister noted that the relations between our peoples are deep-rooted and have ancient history and emphasized that different nations including Jews have been living in our republic which is known worldwide as the country of multicultural values in the environment of tolerance, friendship, kindness and security for centuries. Mr. Eyvazov also stressed the important role of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev in the establishment of the bilateral relations and further extension of this cooperation as a result of the political will of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the leadership of the State of Israel.

Having mentioned that police officers and Internal Troops have been involved in various instruction and training courses held in both countries in recent years, Colonel-General Vilayat Eyvazov emphasized that efforts are being made to coordinate the draft Agreement on Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the State of Israel on Internal and Public Security Issues for the purpose of maintaining working relations with the relevant structures of Israel including the relations between the Ministries of Internal Affairs.
The Minister recalled that he was in Israel several times and during his last visit three years ago Mr. Eyvazov attended an international conference and exhibition in Tel Aviv. The Minister also spoke about the meetings held with many officials and representatives of various organizations, the issues discussed and exchange of views which caused great interest and created a good impression with him. It was noted that studying the experience of the Israeli law enforcement agencies was very useful in combating crime and ensuring public security, and the most modern technologies used in the State of Israel for many years including the “Safe City” system are successfully employed in our country.

Then, the guests were informed about the main rights and duties of the MIA, the current crime situation, the problems our country had faced in the first years of independence, the occupation of our lands as a result of the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan, as well as about the reforms carried out in all spheres of our society including the Internal Affairs bodies after the return of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev to power on insistence of the Azerbaijani people, and success achieved in crime prevention and pubic order protection. The Minister noted that foreigners, businessmen and tourists who come to our country benefit from socio-political stability and favorable crime situation in Azerbaijan just like citizens of our republic which is known as one of the most stable and safe countries not only in the CIS but also in Eastern Europe.
Touching upon existing problems, the Minister of Internal Affairs noted that illegal trafficking of drugs as one of the main types of transnational organized crime is a matter of concern and these types of crimes can only be prevented successfully through the combined efforts.
Yair Kulas expressed his gratitude for the reception and detailed information and highly appreciated his first visit to our country. He also noted that beauty and modernity of the city of Baku made great impression on him and commended the development of relations between the relevant agencies of the two countries and the environment of tolerance created in Azerbaijan.

The guest also considered the recent rise in the number of Israeli citizens visiting Azerbaijan as another important aspect of the development of bilateral relations and as a clear manifestation of the high level of public order and stability in our country. He appreciated the significant work done by internal affairs officers of our republic for protection and security of foreigners along with Azerbaijani citizens and expressed confidence that this visit would serve to deepen this cooperation.
A number of other items of mutual interest were also discussed in the atmosphere of sincerity and cooperation of the meeting.
The reception was attended by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel Dan Stav.