At a time when global geopolitical shifts are reshaping the international order, regional partnerships are becoming increasingly important.

Against this backdrop, The Caspian Post spoke with Yuval Fuchs, Deputy Director General for Eurasia and the Western Balkans at Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about regional stability, economic integration, innovation, transport connectivity, and the future of Azerbaijan-Israel cooperation.

- Mr Fuchs, as geopolitical developments in the South Caucasus continue to evolve rapidly, how do you assess Azerbaijan's role in ensuring regional stability and security?

- Frankly speaking, the changes taking place today are not limited to the South Caucasus. Our region, the Middle East, is undergoing profound transformations. At the same time, we continue to witness the impact of the war in Ukraine, now entering its fifth year, on Europe and transatlantic relations.

We are living through a period of major transformation in the international system. It is difficult to predict where these developments will ultimately lead or what kind of global order will emerge.

To me, the current situation is, in some ways, reminiscent of the early 1990s, when the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union collapsed. We may well be witnessing the emergence of a new world order.

Source: AIR Center

Naturally, these developments create numerous challenges, including regional security concerns, ongoing armed conflicts, and non-military issues such as water scarcity, climate change, and others.

At the same time, every challenge also creates new opportunities.

I believe Azerbaijan is one of the leading countries in both the South Caucasus and Central Asia. It serves as an anchor of stability in the region and remains a reliable partner for Israel during this complex period.

I would like to use an expression I learned in Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan is the "centre of attraction" in its region. In today's increasingly unstable world, there is tremendous potential to strengthen our friendship further and expand our cooperation.

- In your opinion, in which areas could Azerbaijan and Israel expand cooperation to contribute to lasting peace and stronger economic integration in the region?

- Energy has traditionally been one of the key pillars of our bilateral cooperation, and it has developed successfully over many years.

However, we are now entering a new phase. Azerbaijan is no longer merely an energy supplier to Israel; it is also becoming an investor in this sector.

Source: economy.gov.az

I believe our relationship is gradually evolving from a supplier-consumer model into a genuine strategic partnership.

This transformation is already visible in the energy sector. Looking ahead, water management, agriculture, cybersecurity, healthcare, aviation and space technologies could become major areas of cooperation.

Each of these sectors offers significant potential, and cooperation in some of them has already begun.

- As the Middle Corridor gains global importance, how does Israel view Azerbaijan's role as a strategic partner connecting Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East? What new opportunities could this route create for Israel?

- In fact, several important energy corridors already originate in Baku and pass through Azerbaijan. One example is the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. A significant share of the oil consumed by Israel comes either directly from Azerbaijan or from Kazakhstan via Azerbaijan.

If we are speaking specifically about the Middle Corridor linking Central Asia and China with Europe, much more research and analysis is needed. We need to better understand the opportunities this route presents and determine how Israel can benefit from it or contribute to its further development.

- Israel is widely regarded as one of the world's leading centres for innovation, artificial intelligence and advanced technologies. How do you assess Azerbaijan's potential in these areas, and where could bilateral cooperation develop most rapidly?

- During Foreign Minister Sa'ar's visit in January this year, I was particularly interested to learn that Azerbaijan places great emphasis on developing areas such as cybersecurity and digitalisation.

These sectors will be critically important for preserving the added value created by the oil industry and ensuring sustainable economic growth in the future.

What impressed me most is that Azerbaijan is among the relatively small number of countries with an energy surplus and the capacity to export its resources.

Source: Azerbaijani Ministry of Digital Development and Transport

Even more importantly, however, is the strategic vision demonstrated by Azerbaijan's leadership in looking beyond today's advantages, focusing on how to preserve existing strengths while creating new competitive advantages for the future.

In my view, this is precisely how development should be planned: by protecting current advantages while simultaneously building new ones.

This is where artificial intelligence, digitalisation and innovation become particularly important.

These technologies can be applied across the energy, healthcare, finance and many other sectors. I am not an expert in each of these individual fields, but I am convinced that specialists from both countries can identify priority areas and build successful partnerships.

As I mentioned, this process has already begun.

- What opportunities do you see for expanding the presence of Israeli technology companies, innovation centres and start-up ecosystems in Azerbaijan? Is it realistic to expect concrete joint projects in the near future?

- Absolutely. There are significant opportunities in this area.

That said, specific investment and business decisions must ultimately be made by the private sector. The potential is certainly there.

Today, innovation centres incorporating Israeli technologies are already operating in Baku. As far as I know, the Technion and several other Israeli institutions are also participating in various projects.

I would prefer not to mention specific companies or projects at this stage, but the growing number of business delegations and the expansion of intergovernmental cooperation are creating even greater opportunities.

To be honest, I do not see any major obstacles to further cooperation. And if any barriers remain, it is our responsibility to remove them and open new doors.

Today, all the necessary conditions are in place for businesses, entrepreneurs and innovators.

Political dialogue between our countries is at a very high level, as are economic cooperation, the work of the Joint Economic Commission and regular contacts between our leaders. High-level reciprocal visits also make a significant contribution to strengthening our relationship, and we would be pleased to see even more senior-level visits from Azerbaijan to Israel.

Israel actively participates in major international exhibitions, conferences and other important events held in Baku, including COP29.

In other words, the necessary foundation for deeper cooperation has already been established. The infrastructure is in place.

The next stage belongs to the business community, research institutions, entrepreneurs and innovators. They should capitalise on the existing opportunities, establish partnerships and identify new avenues for expanding cooperation.

I am confident that we will see tangible results from these efforts in the near future.