Jerusalem, Oct 4 : Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz visited Azerbaijan to discuss diplomatic and security issues, his office said in a statement. During the visit on Monday, Gantz met with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, as well as his Azerbaijani counterpart Zakir Hasanov, and Chief of State Border Service Elchin Guliyev, and visited a State Border Service headquarters, Xinhua news agency reported. He said the talks focused on the importance of maintaining strategic relations between Israel and Azerbaijan, as well as "continuing to work toward regional and global peace and stability". The Israeli Defence Minister also discussed with Azerbaijani officials new developments in the Middle East following the normalisation agreement Israel signed in 2020 with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and discussed the recent warming ties between Israel and Turkey and other countries. /IANS