​(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara will leave today (Tuesday, 13 December 2016), for Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan on a visit to advance diplomatic relations. PM Netanyahu will discuss, with the Azerbaijani and Kazakh presidents, regional issues as well as diplomatic, security and economic matters.
 
Prime Minister Netanyahu will meet with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev in the presidential Zagulba Palace in Baku, where agreements will be signed by Minister Zeev Elkin (Minister for Environmental Protection, Jerusalem and Heritage) on standardization, double taxation and agricultural cooperation. The Prime Minister will pay respects to fallen soldiers and lay a wreath at the memorial. He will then visit the 'Or Avner' Jewish education complex, along with Azerbaijan Education Minister Mikhayil Jabbarov, and meet with members of the local Jewish community.
 
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Netanyahu will visit Kazakhstan, the first visit by an Israeli prime minister. He will meet with Kazak President Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev in the presidential Akorda Palace in Astana. Following the meeting, an agricultural cooperation agreement will be signed, as will an MOU on visa cooperation. The Prime Minister will also meet with Kazakh Senate Chairman Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
 
Alongside the diplomatic meetings, Prime Minister Netanyahu will chair a meeting of a commercial forum with Israeli and Kazakh businesspeople in order to encourage investment in Israel and boost bilateral trade. Israel views economic relations as a main anchor between the countries. Attending the forum will be an Israeli business delegation, which is joining the Prime Minister, composed of over 70 representatives from Israeli companies in the fields of homeland security, renewable energy, agriculture, water, health and medicine, and finance. The representatives will hold commercial meetings with potential Kazakh companies. There will be an additional central event with the participation of senior Kazakh economic leaders. The Prime Minister and his wife will also attend a large event in the Great Synagogue.