Israeli healthcare providers expand medical partnerships with Azerbaijan

Medical cooperation between Israel and Azerbaijan is expanding, with Soroka Medical Center and Clalit signing new agreements with three leading Azerbaijani healthcare institutions as Israeli physicians begin working alongside their counterparts in Baku.

The agreements, signed at the end of June with TABIB Health Services, Azerbaijan’s largest healthcare provider, the Mirgasimov Republican Medical Center and the Garayev Children’s Medical Center, deepen collaboration in medical research, physician training and pediatric care.

The initiative reflects steadily growing ties between the two countries beyond their longstanding diplomatic and strategic relationship.

Senior teams of doctors from Soroka have already begun working in Azerbaijani hospitals. In addition to pediatrics, the partnerships include neurosurgery and child development.

Soroka said the collaboration has recently expanded to neonatal intensive care units, pediatric departments and the Sussman Institute for Child Development at the Saban Pediatric Medical Center, with discussions also underway to extend the partnership to nursing education.

Dr. Mickey Gidon, director of pediatric neurosurgery at Soroka, was awarded Azerbaijan’s "Excellence in the Health System" award by Azerbaijani Health Minister Timur Musayev in recognition of his role in advancing the partnership between the two countries' healthcare providers.

During the ceremony, according to Soroka, Musayev said that professional exchanges and medical training contribute to the development of healthcare systems in both countries.

Dr. Gidon said that the cooperation was part of a vision to build trust between nations.

"Our vision is to build a bridge to the future of nations," Gidon said in a statement released by the hospital. "We continue our efforts to expand cooperation in the clinical and research fields, medical education and medical innovation. By strengthening these ties, we invest in better health services alongside mutual understanding, trust and friendship between nations."

The Israeli and Azerbaijani health ministries most recently formalized healthcare cooperation through an agreement signed in May 2023 during Israeli President Isaac Herzog's two-day visit to Azerbaijan, aimed at strengthening the decades-long relationship between the two countries. Herzog was accompanied by then-Interior and Health Minister Moshe Arbel.

Herzog was only the second Israeli president to visit Azerbaijan, following Shimon Peres' trip in 2009.

The visit came shortly after Azerbaijan became the first Shiite-majority country to open an embassy in Israel in March 2023.

Although the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992, Azerbaijan delayed opening an embassy in Israel for decades, largely because of pressure from Iran as Azerbaijan shares a border with the Islamic Republic.

The close relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan has also attracted attention in the security sphere. During the recent Israel-Iran war, reports claimed that Israeli commandos and Mossad operatives had been deployed in Azerbaijan.

According to the reports, Israeli special forces at one point operated just 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the Iranian city of Tabriz, which was struck by the Israeli Air Force during Operation Roaring Lion.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one source revealed that the deployed Israeli special units included an "elite heliborne combat and rescue force."

However, a spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Embassy in Washington dismissed the reports, stating that Azerbaijan "firmly [rejected the] unfounded claims regarding the alleged use of Azerbaijan's territory for operations against third countries."