Azerbaijan: Israeli minister visits 'smart village' near Iranian border

20 May 2022; MEMO: Israel's agriculture minister, Oded Forer, yesterday visited the so-called "smart village" in Azerbaijan, just several kilometres from the Iranian border, Maariv has reported.

Official sources said that Forer's visit was aiming "to examine the Israeli technology that was put in place as part of the development of the project." While in Azerbaijan, the Israeli minister met with President Ilham Aliyev, who was reported to have chosen Israel years ago to be his country's partner in developing a national agricultural project to develop rural areas through advanced technology.

The sources pointed out that the project was located in Azerbaijan's south-western region of Zangilan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The region is the subject of a sovereignty dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"I appreciate the opportunity to visit the smart village near the border with Iran and see Israeli knowledge and technology build life," said Forer. "It was wonderful to see Israeli agriculture break boundaries."