Azerbaijan Border Service Officials to Visit US
High-ranking representatives of the Azerbaijan State Border Service will visit Washington, D.C. and the city of Laredo, Texas, on January 24-31 in order to strengthen border security in Azerbaijan and to prevent any proliferation of smuggled weapons of mass destruction.
The visit is funded through the the U.S. Customs and Border Protection International Guests Program.
During the week, Azerbaijan State Border Service officials will meet with U.S. Customs and Border Protection senior managers at the USCBP headquarters in Washington. They will then depart for Laredo, Texas, where they will visit the city’s port operations along the Rio Grande River, an area considered the “Gateway to Mexico.”
Use of Computers, Cell Phones Sees
Massive Growth in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijanis are rapidly embracing communications technologies, with computer and cell phone usage seeing major jumps last year.
In computer users, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies of Azerbaijan is predicting a rise of quantity of computer users in Azerbaijan on par with European and Western countries.
Rashad Nabiyev, the head of the Ministry’s Department of Finance, Accounting & Economic Analysis, said that there are 37 Internet users and 7.5 computers for every 100 people in Azerbaijan. Those figures rose more than double and eight-fold, respectively, over 2007, Nabiyev said.
In addition, Internet connection speeds have also risen sharply, and now stand at eight gigabytes per second, he said.
Meanwhile, mobile phone use has climbed to a usage rate of 68 per 100 people in Azerbaijan, Nabiyev also announced this week. In 2007, just 50 in every 100 people used cell phones.
Ambassador Aliyev Greets
Incoming US Secretary of State
Azerbaijan Ambassador to the United States Yashar Aliyev met with America’s new Secretary of State Hillary Clinton place during inauguration ceremonies of President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. on January 20.
Ambassador Aliyev congratulated Mrs. Clinton with her new responsibilities and expressed his confidence in the further development and strengthening of relationships between Azerbaijan and the United States.
“We had a very pleasant conversation,” Ambassador Aliyev said. “We discussed Azerbaijan’s important and growing role in the world today among a number of issues, from security to energy."
Azerbaijan’s Defense Attaché Attends
Iraq Armed Forces Commemoration
Azerbaijan’s Defense Attaché Colonel Eldar Ismayilov attended a recent event in Washington, D.C. to mark Iraq Armed Forces Day.
During the event, Col. Ismayilov met with Amiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. The two military officers discussed Azerbaijan’s strategic importance in military and security operations.
For five years, more than 1,000 Azerbaijani troops served rotated into Iraq where they successfully defended the vital Haditha Dam that provides almost one-third of all power to the country. Azerbaijani military troops have also served alongside NATO forces in Afghanistan and KFOR troops.
President Ilham Aliyev met with Bulgarian President Georgy Parvanov on January 22 in Baku to discuss gas supply projects to Europe, including the proposed 2,100-mile Nabucco pipeline.