First Meeting Of An Israeli Prime Minister And Turkish President Since 2008

By BJLife Israel Newsroom
Posted on 09/20/22

Prime Minister Yair Lapid, today (Tuesday, 20 September 2022), during his diplomatic visit to New York, met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

This is the first meeting between a Prime Minister of Israel and a President of Türkiye since the announcement of the restoration of full diplomatic representation and the return of Ambassadors and Consuls-General to Israel and Türkiye.

Prime Minister Lapid commended the increased level of representation as well as the appointment of a new Israeli Ambassador to Türkiye, Irit Lillian.

The two leaders discussed the fight against terrorism in Israel and generally. Prime Minister Lapid thanked President Erdoğan for intelligence cooperation at the time of Iran’s attempts to carry out terrorist attacks on Turkish soil.

The Prime Minister also brought up the issue of missing and captive Israelis, and the importance of bringing them home.

Additionally, the two leaders discussed economic and energy cooperation between Israel and Türkiye, as well as regional developments.

The Prime Minister also positively noted the restoration of Israeli flights to Türkiye, and said this step will contribute greatly to strengthening tourism between the nations.