Consulate General of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles

No. 3, September 3, 2012

Azerbaijani Olympic athletes deliver their best-ever performance

With a total of 10 medals, including two gold, two silver and six bronze medals won at the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, Azerbaijani athletes have recorded their best performance since Azerbaijan began participating in the Olympics as an independent nation in 1996. The 53-member Azerbaijani national team ranked 30th in the total number of medals won.

Wrestling was the discipline in which Azerbaijani athletes performed the best, followed by weightlifting and boxing.

Azerbaijan to host Women's World Cup

Azerbaijan is gearing up to welcome the future stars of world soccer to its shores. Between September 22 and October 13, 2012, Azerbaijan will be the proud host to the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. The event will bring together the game’s finest young female talents from around the globe, including from the U.S. The tournament will be held in the capital city Baku and the sea-side port of Lankaran.

Investments in Azerbaijan’s economy exceed $120 billion

Over $120 billion have been invested in Azerbaijan’s economy during the past 17 years, the Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Azerbaijan Niyazi Safarov said.

According to him, Azerbaijan’s economy tripled during the past 8 years with non-oil sector growing by 4.3 times, industrial production – by 2.7 times, strategic currency reserves – by 25 times, and communication sphere – by 6.4 times.

He also noted that the economic progress produced hundreds of thousands of new jobs in the country. So, in 2011 alone, more than 94,000 jobs were created, Safarov said.

120 States: “Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict must be settled within internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan”

The Non-Aligned Movement, which comprises 120 states of the world, and is considered the second largest international organization, reaffirmed its firm stance with regard to the resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict at its meeting of heads of state and government held in Tehran on August 30-31.

The Final Document of the Summit said: “The Heads of State or Government expressed their regret that the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains unresolved and continues to endanger international and regional peace and security. They reaffirmed the importance of the principle of nonuse of force enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and encouraged the parties to continue to seek a negotiated settlement of the conflict within the territorial integrity, sovereignty and the internationally recognized borders of the Republic of Azerbaijan.”

Khojaly Massacre victims honored by Mexico City with monument and square

On August 22, a monument was unveiled in the central Tlaxcoaque Square of Mexico City, which honors the victims of the 1992 Khojaly Massacre. The Tlaxcoaque Square was renamed to Tlakskoake-Khojaly.

Azerbaijan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ali Hasanov, Mayor of Mexico City Marcelo Ebrard, Mexican Senators and Congressmen as well as other officials participated in the inauguration ceremony.

Khojaly was a small town in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. On February 25-26, 1992 the armed forces of Armenia invaded Khojaly brutally killing 613 innocent civilians, including many children, women and the elderly. Human Rights Watch described these atrocities “as the largest massacre to date in the conflict”. In the most shocking admission of culpability, Armenia’s current president Serzh Sargsyan was quoted in the book “Black Garden” (by Thomas de Waal, NYU Press, 2003, page 85), as saying, “Before Khojaly, Azerbaijanis thought that they were joking with us, they thought that the Armenians were people who could not raise their hand against the civilian population. We were able to break that stereotype. And that’s what happened.”

Mobile Government to be introduced in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Communications & IT is preparing to introduce a single system of mobile government (m-Government). The system is intended to improve access to government e-services via mobile platforms as well as to promote the use of digital signature in the country.

In Azerbaijan, mobile phone penetration exceeds 100%. As a result, even those citizens/residents who do not have regular access to a computer will be able to use successfully the government e-services via mobile phones.

Consul General meets Chapman University students

On August 14, Consul General Nasimi Aghayev met with the students of the Chapman University, located in Orange, California, who, together with the students of the Washington, D.C.-based American University, participated in a study trip to Azerbaijan from June 26-29. The students were hosted by the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy.

Expressing huge satisfaction with the trip and the knowledge acquired about the current development of Azerbaijan as well as the ongoing processes in the wider Caspian region, the students noted that they were specifically impressed by Azerbaijan’s strong traditions of ethnic and religious tolerance, which make Azerbaijan an excellent example and vibrant model of multiculturalism for the entire region and beyond.

Azerbaijan successfully represented at California Festival

Supported by the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles, Azerbaijan was represented at the renowned Turkish Arts and Culture Festival in Monterey, California. Azerbaijani booth was one of the best attended of the Festival.

The Festival attendees enjoyed, among others, the Azerbaijani pomegranate juice, which is successfully marketed in a plethora of stores across California. Azerbaijani virtuoso Kamancha player Imamyar Hasanov mesmerized the audience with his outstanding performance of various Azerbaijani Mugham and folk music compositions.

Since 2011, Monterey has enjoyed a well-entrenched sister-city partnership with Lankaran, Azerbaijan.

SAVE THE DATE: Azerbaijani Mugham Concert in Los Angeles on Nov. 1

On November 1, 2012, the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles will hold a concert dedicated to the 35th anniversary of NASA's Voyager spacecraft carrying Golden Records, which include the Azerbaijani Mugham.

The concert featuring virtuoso Azerbaijani Mugham singers, as well as outstanding players of Azerbaijani national instruments Kamancha, Tar and Naghara will be held in the Schoenberg Hall of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) at 7:30pm. RSVPs will be accepted at: protocol@azconsulatela.org

Background: In August-September, 1977, NASA launched Voyager I and II spacecraft, which are today the farthest human-made objects from Earth. The Voyager spacecraft were built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory located in La Cañada Flintridge, California. Phonograph records called “Golden Records” were included aboard both Voyager spacecraft. They contain, among others, a small musical collection representing the Earth’s musical heritage. Selected by NASA’s Voyager Committee from among thousands of musical compositions from across the globe, a record of Azerbaijani Mugham “Shur” played in balaban - national wind instrument - was also included in the Golden Records.

Azerbaijani Mugham is a highly complex art form that weds classical poetry and musical improvisation in specific local modes. Acknowledging the authenticity, richness and cultural significance of Azerbaijani Mugham for both national and global culture, UNESCO recognized it in 2003 as a “Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”.