Official Speeches and Remarks by Ambassador Anne E. Derse

US Ambassador’s remarks at the reception in honor of Goli Ameri, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs

June 19, 2008

Dear friends, honored Guests.

It is my great pleasure to welcome all of you and present my distinguished colleague Goli Ameri, the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.  Assistant Secretary Ameri is responsible for managing all of our educational and professional exchanges, English language, and cultural programs worldwide.  This is a historic visit -- the first time the Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs has visited Azerbaijan.

Both Assistant Secretary Ameri and I are former participants in education exchange programs ourselves.  We are firm believers in the value and importance of such exchanges.  Such programs increase our mutual understanding and help us build stronger bilateral relationships all over the world.

Our exchange programs with Azerbaijan have already sent well over 2,000 Azerbaijani students and scholars to American universities and brought much smaller numbers of Americans here to Azerbaijan.  Some of you are here with us tonight. 

We are committed to continuing our programs which still send over 100 Azerbaijanis to the U.S. each year.  At the same time, Assistant Secretary Ameri and the Minister of Education signed an agreement today that envisages expanding these programs and our cooperation even further. 

We are pleased that President Aliyev and the others in the Azerbaijani Government share our views on the enormous value of these educational exchanges and we congratulate them for their vision in creating the new State Study Abroad Program which will send thousands to study in the U.S. and other countries.

Now I would like to invite Assistant Secretary Ameri to say a couple of words.