Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijani ambassador to the United States made a presentation about Azerbaijan to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

The Council is one of the oldest and most famous centers in the U.S. for international relations.

Elin Suleymanov attended discussions on Azerbaijan held in the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Jewish Community Relations Council, and American Jewish Committee`s Chicago Committee.

Public and political figures of Chicago, businessmen, and heads of diplomatic corps attended the event.

Suleymanov briefed the audience on Azerbaijan`s statehood history, its accomplishments in economic and foreign policy, and Azerbaijan-related regional and global large-scale energy projects.

He said those projects spurred economic development and improved the well-being of not only Azerbaijan, but also the entire region.

He said that Azerbaijan enjoyed a favorable climate for foreign investments.

Suleymanov said Azerbaijan was interested in expanding regional integration, noting that Armenia`s aggressive policy impedes this process and ensuring a stable future for the South Caucasus.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that caused a brutal war in the early 1990s. Long-standing efforts by the US, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

Vice president of programs at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs Niamh King spoke about Azerbaijan`s achievements in recent years, saying the country became a leader in the region thanks to its stable and systematic policy.

Dan Mariaschin, Executive Vice President of B'nai B'rith which has long worked closely with Suleymanov and Azerbaijan, said that the American Jewish community has long seen the country as a potential friend in the Middle East, as it was one of the few safe havens for Soviet Jews.

"Looking at a region in which Israel could have normal relations with secular Islamic countries to improve the climate of relationships and acceptance in that part of the world ... there's no question that Azerbaijan was at the center of that objective," Mariaschin said.

He described the country as "tolerant", saying representatives of various minorities have lived in peace and friendship in Azerbaijan for a long time.

Mariaschin thanked Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for continuing the course of tolerance and open society initiated by country's national leader Heydar Aliyev.

Suleymanov said Azerbaijan stands as a friend of the United States and a friend of Israel in a very difficult neighborhood.

Speaking about the Azerbaijani government`s policy to promote national, ethnic, and religious diversity in the country, he said Azerbaijan had hosted numerous international conferences and forums on culture and tolerance.

Recently, the Venividi.ru website's rating ranked Azerbaijan among the top five most tolerant countries in the world.

According to the website, today the model of tolerance in Azerbaijan is considered a model for the Muslim world and is actively being discussed at many international conferences and forums.