March 14, 2016 — Baku, Azerbaijan
A seven-member AJC leadership delegation, led by President Stanley Bergman and Chief Executive Officer David Harris, just concluded a two-day visit to Azerbaijan's capital.
The mission, AJC's ninth visit in the past decade, was highlighted by a 65-minute private meeting with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. While in Baku, the group also met with Chairman of the State Committee on Diaspora Affairs Nazim Ibrahimov; Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign and Inter-parliamentary Affairs Samad Seyidov; Ambassador-at-Large Fakhraddin Gurbanov; the Israeli and German ambassadors to Azerbaijan; and the U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission in Baku.
Among the principal topics discussed were: (i) U.S.-Azerbaijani bilateral relations and President Aliyev's upcoming visit to Washington; (ii) ties between Baku and Jerusalem; (iii) regional security and energy developments; and (iv) ongoing instability in the Middle East.
"AJC continues to deepen its friendship with Azerbaijan, a predominantly Shiite Muslim country bordering Iran, Russia, Georgia, and Armenia. It is a strategic partner for the U.S. and Israel, contributes to energy stability and regional security, and upholds its long history of religious pluralism and the absence of antisemitism," said Harris, who has visited Azerbaijan many times and received the "Dostlug" Order of Friendship, one of the country's highest honors, in 2012. "One of our goals is to broaden understanding of this unique country that regained its independence in 1991 after decades of Soviet domination," added Harris.
During their stay, the AJC delegation also visited a synagogue and met with the local Jewish community leadership, with which Dr. Sam Kliger, AJC's Director of Russian Jewish Affairs, stays in regular contact.
The trip included a visit to the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy University (ADA), where, for the second year in a row, Harris spoke to dozens of students, faculty members, and diplomats about current international geopolitical challenges and American global leadership.
Moreover, Harris was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Azerbaijan State University of Languages. Previous recipients of this distinction include former Israeli President Shimon Peres.
