Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

All ethnicities and religions in Azerbaijan enjoy strong interethnic and interfaith harmony, and Muslims, Christians, Jews and other communities live together in peace, dignity and mutual respect thanks to wise leadership and policies of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Azerbaijan’s Consul General in Los Angeles Nasimi Aghayev made the remark addressing activists of the thanks to wise leadership and policies of President Ilham Aliyev at the invitation of the AJC’s Los Angeles Regional Office on November 13.

Aghayev informed the audience about important milestones of Azerbaijan’s history, as well as its steady development and modernization as an independent nation since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Noting the vast oil and natural gas resources of Azerbaijan, he highlighted the country’s rapid transformation as a result of the smart use of these natural resources.

Aghayev also mentioned that the Azerbaijani people established in 1918 the first secular parliamentary republic in the Muslim world, and that the ethnic and religious tolerance was one of the guiding principles of this Republic.

Speaking of the recent successful trip of around 50 members of Los Angeles’s Sinai Temple synagogue to Azerbaijan, which has become the largest ever delegation from U.S. Western Region to Azerbaijan, Aghayev stressed the importance of such trips and first-hand experiences for building bridges between the Jewish communities of Azerbaijan and the U.S., as well as for strengthening the people-to-people contacts between the two countries.

Aghayev also informed the AJC activists about the illegal military occupation and ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijan’s lands by Armenia.

Speaking of Azerbaijan’s relations with Israel, the consul general characterized these relations as robust, sustainable and mutually beneficial, covering a plethora of important areas. He also highlighted the life of the vibrant Jewish community in Azerbaijan and its role in furthering Azerbaijani-Israeli friendship.

The event concluded with a Q&A session, during which Aghayev responded to various questions from the audience.

AJC’s Government and International Affairs Director Jason Isaacson also spoke at the event. Other speakers were AJC/PI’s Communications Director Myra Clark-Siegel as well as AJCLA’s leaders Debbie Saidoff and Julie Bram.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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