Senator Brownback Calls for U.S. and Azerbaijan to Conclude a "Grand Bargain" to Deepen and Broaden Relations

Senator Brownback visited Azerbaijan on February 20 to meet with President Aliyev and to address over 200 Azerbaijani students, offials, and politicians assembled at the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy. In his remarks and in the Q&A session, the Senator told the audience that he had urged President Aliyev to visit Washington and conclude a "grand bargain" in an effort to broaden bilateral relations in the areas of energy, commerce, and security/military cooperation. Senator Brownback also discussed the U.S. elections, Iran, Kosovo, the PKK, Nagorno-Karabakh and other issues. The Senator also visited our American Center at the University of Foreign Languages and gave exclusive interviews to ANS TV, Radio Liberty, and the BBC. His visit received broad, positive, national press coverage.

U.S. Awards Grant to Assist Azerbaijan in Developing a New Pension System

Ambassador Derse and State Social Protection Fund Chairman Muslimov signed a grant agreement to provide $600,000 from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency to assist Azerbaijan in reforming its pension system. The technical assisatnce provided under this grant will help Azerbaijan to use its energy revenues to develop and fund individually-insured, state-funded pension accounts, in addition to setting up a mechanism for individual retirement accounts. This agreement is a demonstration of broad U.S. assistance efforts designed to help and encourage Azerbaijan to use its energy revenues effectively and for the benefit of all Azerbaijani citizens. Media coverage of the signing ceremony was extensive and uniformly positive.

Ambassador's Visit to Grave of Slain Journalist Highlights U.S. Support for Media Freedom

Ambassador Derse visited the grave of Elmar Huseynov, an outspoken journalist who was murdered three years ago, to express U.S. support and solidarity for independent journalists and media freedom in Azerbaijan. Ambassador Derse used the occasion to reiterate U.S. calls for the crime to be thoroughly investigated and for the perpetrators to be prosecuted and punished. The U.S. Embassy is also administering a grant from the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor to the Elmar Huseynov Foundation to provide support for investigative journalism as a commemoration of Elmar Huseynov's memory. This commemoration on the anniversary of Elmar Huseynov's death was attended by prominent media professionals and politicians. The Ambassador's participation and her remarks were covered widely by the national print media.