Israel’s President Isaac Herzog to Travel to Turkey
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog and his wife, Michal, will make a state visit to Turkey on March 9-10, according to his office. The visit comes at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Herzog will be the first Israeli leader to visit Turkey since 2008. The last state visit in Turkey by an Israeli president took place in 2003.
Herzog is scheduled to visit Ankara, where he will be received with a state welcome ceremony at the Presidential Complex, and Istanbul, where he will meet members of the Jewish community.
Erdogan called Herzog in July to congratulate him on his election, in a conversation that led to a resumption of dialogue between Israel and Turkey after a disconnect lasting several years.
During the visit, which Herzog’s office says is coordinated with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, and their offices, the two presidents plan to discuss various bilateral issues, including Israel-Turkey relations and the potential for expanding collaboration between their respective states and peoples in various fields, according to the announcement from Herzog’s office.
The visit comes a week after Herzog traveled to Cyprus in a visit meant, in part, to reassure Cyprus that Israel’s rapprochement with Turkey will not affect ties with Cyprus. Turkey and Cyprus have a fraught relationship, stemming from a coup in Turkey in the 1970s and territorial disputes.
