Economic cooperation between Israel and Azerbaijan has been growing significantly. As Azerbaijan deregulated its industries and liberalized economy in the early 1990s, Israeli companies penetrated Azerbaijani markets. Many companies have invested in service industry. One example is Bezeq, a major Israeli telecommunication provider. Through a trade contract bid in 1994, Bezeq bought a large share of the telephone operating system. Today it installs phone lines and operates regional services throughout much of the country. Another company, Bakcell, was commenced as a joint venture between the Ministry of Communication of Azerbaijan and GTIB (Israel) in early 1994 as the first cellular telephone operator in the country. Dozens of Israeli companies are active in the Azerbaijani energy sector. For instance, Modcon Systems Ltd., an Israel-based supplier of high technology to the oil and gas industries, opened a branch in Azerbaijan. In March 2021, Israeli defense company Meteor Aerospace teamed up with Caspian Ship Building Company (CSBC) of Azerbaijan to jointly offer advanced defense solutions to meet the Eurasian country's national needs.