ANKARA (AFP) - Turkey and Israel Tuesday pledged commitment to improve ties as an Israeli minister held talks in Ankara, the first since Israel’s war in Gaza poisoned ties between the two regional allies.

"We are doing our best to make progress in our ties... I am confident we will keep our friendship on the right course, in the best shape," Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, Israel's trade and industry minister, was quoted as saying by Anatolia news agency.

Ben-Eliezer described Turkish-Israeli ties as a "strategic partnership" and invited Turkish businesspeople to invest in Israel and "feel at ease just as we feel at home here". The minister spoke at a meeting of a joint economic committee attended also by Turkish Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul.

"We see the future of our ties with Israel in a permanent perspective and we aim to improve and deepen bilateral relations," Gonul said.

The bilateral trade volume, he said, fell by 31 per cent to $1.9 billion in the first nine months of the year, adding that "we need to focus on efforts to enhance commercial and economic links and draw up new projects." After signing the trade accords, Gonul also announced that Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak would visit Turkey within the next month, Anatolia reported.

Ben-Eliezer also met behind closed doors with President Abdullah Gul.

Israel's ties with Turkey, its main regional ally since 1998 when the two signed a military cooperation deal, took a downturn in January when the Islamist-rooted government in Ankara launched an unprecedented barrage of criticism of Israel over its deadly offensive on Gaza.

In a memorable outburst, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stormed out from a debate at the World Economic Forum, accusing Israel of "barbarian" acts and telling Israeli President Shimon Peres, sitting next to him, that "you know well how to kill people".

Last month, Turkey excluded Israel from joint military drills and said ties would continue to suffer unless Israel ends "the humanitarian tragedy" in Gaza and revives peace talks with the Palestinians.

Despite the fence-mending efforts, Israel's hardline Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Sunday that Turkey cannot resume its role of mediator in indirect talks with Syria "after all verbal attacks and insults toward us". And Turkey's premier also remained bitter, slamming Israel for keeping Gaza under blockade.

"The bombed infrastructure [in Gaza] has collapsed. Turkey wants to extend a helping hand [to the Palestinians], but no positive approach has been displayed even on that," Erdogan said late Monday, before flying to Libya.