Azerbaijan's Republic Day marked in Los Angeles - PHOTOS

The event, organized by the Consulate General of Azerbaijan, were attended by about 400 representatives of a State of California, the diplomatic corps and the public of the State, including Azerbaijani, Turkish, Jewish, Georgian and Iranian communities. The hymns of Azerbaijan and the United States were lively performed by American singer-soprano Demetra George Mustafaoglu.

Speaking at the official part of the event Los Angeles County Sheriff  Leroy Baca congratulated the event participants on this occasion and told about his recent trip to Baku. He praised the pace of  Azerbaijan’s development under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev and  long-term strategy of  the Head of State.

Sheriff Baca said he is hopeful for soonest peaceful settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which would help regional integration of Armenia and normalization of its relations with neighboring states. He highlighted the need for return of displaced persons affected by the conflict to their homes in the near future.
 
On behalf of the city government of Los Angeles, President of City Council Jen Perry presented a proclamation on the occasion of Republic Day signed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the full Council. In turn, Head of Protocol County of Los Angeles of Lourdes Saab read out statement of the Council of Heads of the district. Proclamation on behalf of the Mayor of Monterey, located in North California, was read out by member of the City Council Nancy Selfridge.

Beverly Hills Mayor Jimmy Delshad shared with visitors impressions of the trip to Azerbaijan in 2008. Official greetings by Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger and the governors of other western states were also read out.

In his remarks at the reception, Azerbaijan’s Consul General Elin Suleymanov stressed that Azerbaijan  remains faithful to the principles of equality, tolerance and openness set when Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was established. He presented awards of appreciation on behalf of the Consulate.

Head of Protocol at Mayor's Office Elga Sharpe and representative of the Consular Corps Wendy Wagner were awarded for the support given to the consular corps in Los Angeles. Awards were also represented to the activists of the Jewish community Michael Tushin and Dr. Robert Met, who played a major role in establishing friendly relations with Azerbaijan.

In his speech, Tushin noted that Azerbaijan is an example of tolerance and said Azerbaijan’s experience makes him hopeful for a peaceful future and coexistence in the Middle East. Leader of the Turkish community Mehmet Mustafaoglu was presented with a collection of works of masters of the Karabakh music, prepared by Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

Azerbaijan’s people’s artist Chingiz Sadigov, who currently resides in California, made a short speech at the event. Maestro Sadikhov was recently awarded the Order of “Shohret” by President Ilham Aliyev for his merits in development of the Azerbaijani music.


/Today.Az/

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