Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz will visit Turkey on Thursday in the first ministerial visit between the two countries for six years, Israel's embassy in Ankara said in a statement on Monday.

 

Steinitz will meet with his Turkish counterpart Berat Albayrak and also attend the World Energy Congress in Istanbul.

 

Relations between the two countries crumbled after Israeli marines stormed an aid ship in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, killing 10 Turkish activists on board. Israel and Turkey announced in June that they would normalize ties.