Baku, Azerbaijan-As part of his official visit to Azerbaijan, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Bill Burns spoke to students and staff of the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy on Friday, the 19th of February.
ADA Rector, Ambassador Hafiz Pashayev welcomed the guest, emphasizing that this is a unique opportunity for ADA students to familiarize themselves first hand with US foreign policy.
Under Secretary of State Burns addressed a range of issues of US and mutual concern, from the spreading dangers of weapons of mass destruction, new and more malignant forms of terrorism, unresolved regional and sectarian conflicts, failed and failing states, global economic dislocation and transnational health, energy and environmental concerns.
On the cooperation with Azerbaijan, Mr. Burns stated that “our history of shared relations with Azerbaijan is a long and fruitful one on many fronts, with the notable success of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline as only one example of that cooperative and collaborative spirit. The pipeline unlocked Caspian energy resources for the world, but it and other projects have also fueled Azerbaijan’s economy and secured a more independent economic future for the Azerbaijani people”.
Full text of Mr. Burns’s speech is available here (pdf file):
His address was followed by a lively Q&A session and discussion.
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