[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 15590-15591]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE SERVICE OF HIS EXCELLENCE YASHAR ALIYEV, AMBASSADOR 
EXTRAORDINARY AND PLENIPOTENTIARY OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN TO THE 
                        UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. DAN BOREN

                              of oklahoma

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 13, 2011

  Mr. BOREN. Mr. Speaker, as the co-chairman of the Congressional 
Azerbaijan Caucus, I rise today to honor the distinguished service of 
His Excellency Yashar Aliyev, the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the 
United States.
  Soon, Ambassador Aliyev will return to Azerbaijan after the 
conclusion of a successful tour in Washington. His leadership has been 
critical to strengthening the friendship between the United States and 
Azerbaijan, and I want to recognize and thank him for his service.
  Before being named Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of 
the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United States of America by President 
Ilham Aliyev in October 2006, Ambassador Aliyev served four years as 
Azerbaijan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. During 
this time, he was chairman of the Fourth Committee of Special Political 
and Decolonization of the 60th U.N. General Assembly, vice president of 
the 59th General Assembly, vice president of the Economic and Social 
Council, and vice president of the U.N. Conference on the Illicit Trade 
in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects.
  As Ambassador to the United States, he has worked with great skill 
and dedication to enhance the bond between the United States and 
Azerbaijan. To this important end, he has been tremendously successful 
on several fronts.
  Ambassador Aliyev has solidified the strategic partnership between 
our nations. In recent years, Azerbaijan has participated in 
initiatives to curb nuclear proliferation, fight international 
terrorism, and maintain regional security in southwestern Asia. 
Moreover, it has provided multi-faceted support to U.S. operations in 
Afghanistan and Iraq.

[[Page 15591]]

  Also during his tenure, Ambassador Aliyev has deepened economic ties 
between the United States and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan supplies oil and 
gas to the United States and other Western countries, thereby providing 
vital energy to the global economy. Moreover, American energy companies 
are participants in a collaborative effort to further develop 
Azerbaijan's oil and gas reserves in the Caspian Sea.
  Of great importance to me, the relationship between my home state of 
Oklahoma and Azerbaijan has continued to grow under the leadership of 
Ambassador Aliyev. In recent years, the Ministry of Defense of 
Azerbaijan and the Oklahoma National Guard have engaged in joint 
training exercises and operations through the National Guard State 
Partnership Program.
  Ambassador Aliyev has broadened collaboration between his country and 
Oklahoma beyond military cooperation. Earlier this year, he visited 
Oklahoma and met with various elected officials and business leaders. I 
am confident his visit laid the groundwork for expanding opportunities 
for Azerbaijan to cooperate with Oklahoma's business community and 
universities.
  It has been an honor to work with Ambassador Aliyev. I hope he will 
reflect on his time served in Washington with a sense of pride. As a 
result of his work, the relationship between the United States and 
Azerbaijan has never been stronger.
  In closing, it has been a pleasure to work with Ambassador Aliyev. I 
thank him for his dedicated service. He will forever be a trusted 
friend of the United States. I wish him well in all his future 
endeavors.

                          ____________________