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Washington hosts solemn reception dedicated to 95th anniversary of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

24 May 2013 09:48 (UTC +04:00)

The embassy told APA that the event was attended by the US senior officials, US congressmen Henry Cuellar, Dana Rohrabacher, Steve Cohen, Al Green, Marc Veasey, Michael Turner, Patrick Kennedy, Steve Chabot, high-ranking officials of the US military forces, ambassadors of a number of countries to the US, representatives of diplomatic corps and Azerbaijani, Turkish and Jewish communities of the US.

At the beginning of the event, Argentine singer Maria Entraigues sang the anthems of Azerbaijan and the US.

Greeting the numerous participants, including the guests from other states, ambassador of Azerbaijan to the US Elin Suleymanov stressed the role of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in the restoration of statehood traditions of the country. He said that Azerbaijan, which restored its independence in 1991, has become a regional leader both in terms of politics and economy.

Following this, US Department of State special envoy and coordinator for international energy affairs, ambassador Carlos Pascual delivered a speech at the event. Noting the importance of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline implemented on the initiative of Azerbaijan, he said: “It is not just a pipeline. It was an indication of independence. Today we see Azerbaijan in that leadership position once again. As it develops Shahdeniz 2 project it looks for the first time to create Southern Corridor gas coming from Caspian region to Europe”, - said Carlos Pascual.

He stated that it is a project that the US has strongly endorsed and continue to support and in short amount of time we’ll see the choice made between two terrific projects, one Nabucco West, the other is Trans-Adriatic Pipeline which will eventually take that gas through Turkey to Europe.

Speaking about the role of Azerbaijan in energy security of Europe, Carlos Pascual stated that Azerbaijan has been a path-broker in promoting energy security and economic independence.

“Those resources, I know have also become a huge factor in a way that Azerbaijan is trying to diversify its economy at home. So that is not just an energy state, but it is state that is growing on sound economic foundations,” – said special envoy.

Congratulating the Azerbaijani people on the occasion of the Republic Day, co-chair of the congressional Azerbaijan caucus, congressman Steve Cohen spoke about the importance of the enhancement of the current cooperation between the US and Azerbaijan. Noting that the US will continue developing the friendly relations with Azerbaijan, congressman Dana Rohrabacher stressed that it is a great historical event that Azerbaijan regained its independence in 1991. He highly assesses this achievement of the Azerbaijani people and believes this independence is sustainable and invincible.

Later, Patricia Elwood, chief of protocol and international affairs at DC government, and Mayor of the District of Columbia Vincent C. Gray read the congratulatory declaration.

The reception was followed by a concert.