Azerbaijan and Israel have signed a memorandum of understanding on artificial intelligence, formalising cooperation in a fast-growing sector that both governments see as central to their economic and strategic ambitions.

Israel and Azerbaijan’s new artificial intelligence memorandum of understanding marks an effort to lock their already close partnership into the next wave of strategic technology, tying Israeli expertise in AI and supercomputing to Baku’s push to modernise its economy and digital infrastructure. 

Under the MoU, the two countries plan to cooperate on supercomputing infrastructure, the use of AI in critical civilian sectors, the development of human capital and joint research initiatives, according to a statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office.

The agreement was signed in Jerusalem by Brigadier General Erez Askal, head of Israel’s National Artificial Intelligence Directorate, and Azerbaijan’s Minister of Digital Development and Transport, Rashad Nabiyev, in the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu said the partnership reflected both the long-standing relationship between the two countries and their shared ambition to be leaders in technology.

“AI is not the instrument of the future, it’s the instrument of the present that is rushing towards tomorrow,” he said in a press release. “We have to make sure that we are among the leading nations in this field. And I think that we can do a lot more and a lot better together.”

"The MOU signed today is the next step in advancing the State of Israel toward global leadership in the field of AI, as part of the flagship goals of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu," Israel's Government Press Office wrote on X.

Askal said cooperation on artificial intelligence would add a new dimension to the partnership between the two countries.

The two sides did not disclose a financial value for the cooperation or a timeline for specific projects, but officials said further announcements were expected as joint initiatives take shape.

For both governments, it is less about a single project than about institutionalising long‑term tech cooperation that reinforces their broader political and security alignment in a region where digital capabilities are becoming a key measure of power.