“The Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan was an example to the first parliamentary republic in the east. This Republic allowed all citizens to enjoy equal rights regardless of their race, religion, nationality and what is more important gender,” Azerbaijani Ambassador to the United States Elin Suleymanov said delivering a speech “Azerbaijan’s foreign policy” for the members of the American Foreign Service Association on, Azerbaijani Embassy in the U.S. told APA.
Firstly giving information about the history of Azerbaijani statehood, the Ambassador stressed that the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan granted women’s suffrage for the first time in the Muslim world, and before a number of European countries and the United States. The Ambassador said that Azerbaijan is converging religions and civilizations and he is proud of the ethnic and religious diversity of our country.
Touching on Azerbaijan’s energy diplomacy as a state with rich energy resources, he gave detailed information about the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.
Suleymanov said one of the main directions of Azerbaijani foreign policy is to ensure continuation of mutually beneficial relations with neighboring countries and spoke about the exemplary relations of Azerbaijan with Turkey and Georgia. Touching on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that impedes further development and integration of the region, the Ambassador said the conflict still remains unresolved, as Armenian leadership doesn’t demonstrate political will. “Mostly the populace suffers from this non-constructive position of the government,” he said.
Following this, he briefly spoke about the US-Azerbaijan bilateral relations and close cooperation between the countries in fighting against terrorism, ensuring energy security of Europe.
The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) is the professional association of the United States Foreign Service. AFSA represents active and retired Foreign Service employees.
/Apa/
