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State of Oklahoma issues citation on partnership with Azerbaijan Republic

11 September 2013 09:53 (UTC +04:00)

Baku – APA. The Oklahoma National Guard is a partner of Azerbaijan since 2003 within the U.S. State Partnership Program (SPP) and Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, Senator Brian Bingman, President Pro Tempore and Senator Tom Ivester have issued a citation commemorating the tenth anniversary of Oklahoma’s partnership with the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Embassy of Azerbaijan in the United States told APA.

The citation notes that the Republic of Azerbaijan, the largest country in the Caucasus region, is located in a strategically important South Caucasus region, Azerbaijan extended suffrage to women in 1918, making it first Muslim nation to grant women equal political rights with men, the United States of America and the Republic of Azerbaijan established diplomatic relations on February 28, 1992 and has enjoyed more than twenty years of diplomatic relations, during the historic visit of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev to the United States in 1997 and over the last two decades, the Republic of Azerbaijan strengthened its sovereignty and political independence and became an important strategic partner for the United States in the region and in global affairs.

The citation appreciates the productive and multi-faceted cooperation of the Oklahoma National Guard with Azerbaijan’s armed forces, underlines that the Oklahoma National Guard and the State of Oklahoma have conducted over 190 separate exchanges over the last 10 years.

The authors stressed that Azerbaijan has been an important partner in Afghanistan, in ISAF, is a key player in the Eurasian energy market and a reliable partner for global and European energy security.

Moreover, the Oklahoma officials appreciate Azerbaijan’s role model of intercultural dialogue, where various ethnic and religious communities have peacefully coexisted for centuries, support the strategic partnership between the United States and the Republic of Azerbaijan and call on the US Administration to further strengthen this bilateral relationship in various spheres.

During his official visit to Azerbaijan on August 10-16, Major General Myles Lynn Deering, Commander of the Oklahoma National Guard discussed the opportunities of cooperation between the Oklahoma National Guard and Azerbaijan.