Interview

Ambassador Anne E. Derse

Obama Calls for a New Beginning with Muslims Around the World

"We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written," President Obama says in remarks at Cairo University.

Remarks of the President Obama on the New Beginnings

Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, June 4, 2009

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More on Obama in Cairo: Updates and Photos

The White House

WASHINGTON, May 22, 2009

His Excellency
Ilham Aliyev
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Baku

Dear Mr. President:

I offer my congratulations to you and the people of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the opening of the Sixteenth International Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition and Conference in Baku.

Your country has emerged as an important and reliable supplier of energy to world markets.  Azerbaijan is an example of how developing energy resources with the involvement of international companies can result in rapid progress and access to the best technology.  Your success is exemplified in Azerbaijan's invitation to international investors in the mid-1990s to develop its oil and gas fields, and the realization of the East-West Energy Corridor, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and South Caucasus gas pipeline.  These projects, spanning hundreds of miles over three countries and involving a number of international energy companies, epitomized what can be achieved with dedication and cooperation.  The United States was proud to be a partner of Azerbaijan and all the actors who realized these important projects.

We support your efforts to develop your natural gas fields to help diversify regional supplies, which will benefit your country and your neighbors alike.  We commend you for continuing to develop your hydrocarbon sector in a process that will increase regional prosperity and cooperation as well as global energy security, while also offering an invaluable opportunity to address the needs and aspirations of all Azerbaijani citizens.

In your drive to continue developing your energy resources, Azerbaijan will find a strong friend and partner in the United States.  I look forward to continuing to work closely with Azerbaijan, and I wish you and all participants best wishes for a successful exhibition and conference.

Sincerely,

(Signed Barack Obama)

Letter to H.E. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Dear Mr. President:

Please accept my warm greetings and congratulations on Azerbaijani Independence Day, May 28.

On this day in 1918, Azerbaijani independence was declared and the nation set about the work of building a state.  We share in your remembrance and celebration on this national day, and look forward to strengthening our partnership with Azerbaijan in the years ahead.

On behalf of the American people, I wish you and the Azerbaijani people the best on this Independence Day.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

Special Envoy Morningstar

Leads U.S. Delegation to Caspian Oil And Gas Show

Richard L. Morningstar, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy, is leading the U.S. delegation to the Caspian Oil and Gas Show.  He is accompanied by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza and Daniel Stein, U.S. Trade and Development Agency Regional Director; and Ambassador Anne E. Derse. Apart from the COGS events, Ambassador Morningstar is meeting with senior government and business leaders during a five-day trip, May 30-June 3.  Monday, June 1, he delivered an address outlining U.S. positions on energy security matters to the American Chamber of Commerce.

In remarks prepared for delivery, Morningstar said, “International engagement on energy issues is not only critical to U.S. energy security, but to every nation’s energy security.  The U.S. holds the view that energy security is not a zero-sum game.  Indeed, no nation’s energy security can be had at the expense of any other nations’ — we’re all in this together."He continued, “We hope Azerbaijan and its neighbors will maximize their production of oil and gas, including developing new sources, and we stand ready to help this production reach markets.  By developing their hydrocarbon resources and delivering them via diversified routes to markets, Caucasus and Central Asian countries can increase their economic development while bolstering their standing as independent, sovereign nations.”

“Pipelines are ties that bind, and selling Azerbaijani gas to Europe via the Southern Corridor would form strong bond between this country and the West,” Morningstar continued.

“The United States supports European internal market reforms that will lead to a single market for energy, unbundling the distribution and supply functions of energy firms, and interconnectivity of European gas and electricity networks,” said Morningstar.

SPEECH delivered by Ambassador Richard Morningstar at American Chamber of Commerce, Landmark III. June 1, 2009

2010-2011 HUBERT H. HUMPHREY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

The Embassy of the United States of America invites applicants for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program for the academic year 2010-2011.

For more details please visit our Educational Programs page.

An Independent Press Needs Independence

By Anne E. Derse, U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan

On World Press Freedom Day, May 3, the international community takes time to recognize the importance of a free press and call upon governments to ensure journalists the opportunity to carry out their mission. 

Unfortunately, in recent years, May 3 also has become a day to honor journalists who have died doing their work or express solidarity with journalists who have been deprived of their freedom as a result of their reporting and publishing.  

Azerbaijan is, of course, a nation in transition.  A free and independent press was not a hallmark of the Soviet Union, and it is taking time to strengthen core democratic institutions in this, as in other, newly independent republics.  

But I see every day the desire, the hope, of young journalists who believe the future will be different.   

Tomorrow's generation of Azerbaijani journalists are looking forward to a day:
· When objectively reporting the truth, including reporting wrongdoing, does not result in recriminations, lawsuits and physical and economic pressures;
·  When journalists have regular access to public officials and the opportunity to ask detailed questions about policies, procedures and expenditures;
·  When newspapers, broadcasting companies and on-line news services can work as private, independent companies, with no financial ties to government, political parties or private interests; and
·  When independent, unbiased reporting and high ethical standards are the norm.
World Press Freedom Day was created by the United Nations in 1993 to mark the 1991 Windhoek Declaration, which called attention to press freedom issues in Africa.  The UN aimed to remind its members around the world of their commitments under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  That article states simply:  "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." 

As the U.S. Government has often stated and chronicled in our annual Human Rights Report, media freedom has long been an area of priority concern in Azerbaijan, as in many other countries of the former Soviet Union.   

The situation, however, is not static.  There has been change.  And there has been change for the better.   But more is needed. 

Nothing would do more to strengthen Azerbaijan's progress towards democracy than a vibrant, independent press.   And while we appreciate the government's effort to help strengthen the media via a new State Media Support Fund, the very concept of the government providing financial support to media outlets undercuts the idea of independent media.

Independent media should be that -- independent.   Free and independent press relies not on government funding, not on grants, not on the sponsorship of donors, transparent or otherwise.  

Great newspapers, great broadcasting networks are companies.  They are independent business enterprises.  They sell advertising.  They have subscribers.  They answer to their readers, their viewers, their customers only.  As blunt as it may sound, until capitalism takes root in the Azerbaijani media and media companies -- as self-financing independent businesses -- become truly independent media companies, the free media will be less than free. 

I recognize that this is not a process that takes place overnight, but it is a process that needs to move forward for the good of Azerbaijan's democracy and independent future.   
On this May 3, I congratulate Azerbaijan’s journalists on their courageous and important work.   I wish the new generation of journalists, in particular, the greatest success in supporting Azerbaijan’s development as a strong democracy.