Dan Bayer introduced our speaker Friday as Elin Suleymanov, direct from Azerbaijan, and currently Consul General of Azerbaijan to Los Angeles and the Western States.  Mr. Suleymanov was the first Consul General to Los Angeles appointed on November 14, 2005.  Mr. Suleymanov has the personal rank of Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.  Prior to his appointment he served as Senior Counselor at the Foreign Relations Department, office of the President of Baku, Azerbaijan.  He is a graduate of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Medford, Massachusetts.  He also holds graduate degrees from the political geography department of Moscow State University, Russia, and the University Of Toledo, Ohio.

Mr. Suleymanov pointed out just how, in the last 20 years, since the collapse of “imperial domination” in Russia, Azerbaijan has become a key ally to the United States.  A most significant move was signing an agreement in 1994 which became known as “Deal of the Century”, between western oil companies and Azerbaijan.  The country has developed its independence as one of Americas most reliable regional partners and an important member of Euro-Atlantic initiatives.  Domestically, the country has made steady progress in the area of political and social reforms.  In a 2009 report from World Bank called “Doing Business” the country was named the Top Performer in the world. 

Today, Azerbaijan remains strongly committed to enhancing energy security and diversity of energy supplies.  The government welcomes foreign direct investment in the country.  Having become a net natural gas exporter in 2007, Azerbaijan exports gas via a variety of pipelines transiting Georgia and Turkey.  Azerbaijan’s own vast gas reserves make it a key partner in Europe’s energy future.

Azerbaijan possesses a unique cultural history that is filled with important contributions in literature, arts and music.  A foundation ahs made a special effort to preserve and reinvigorate the ancient Azerbaijani Mugham, a unique musical tradition based on Sufi Chants. 

We thank the Consul General Elin Suleymanov and Dan Bayer for introducing such a beautiful country to Arcadia Rotary.