The Turquoise Arkansan Friendship dinner was held at the Capitol Building at the Little Rock Club to mark the significance of building bilateral relations and partnerships with legislators and the community at large. The event took place on February 25th, 2014, and was organized by the Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians (TCAE), a regional federation under the Turkic American Alliance. In attendance was the Honorable Secretary of State of Arkansas, Mark Martin, as well as distinguished members of the Arkansas Senate and House of Representatives.
Mamad Talibov, Counselor of Political and Legal Affairs at the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Washington, D.C., emphasized the value of maintaining a strong U.S.- Azerbaijan partnership and harnessing Azerbaijan’s potential as a major energy security player in Europe. Furthermore, Mr. Talibov stressed the value of important projects ongoing within the region, namely Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipelines–both of which could increase the country’s current and future economic prospects in Europe. In addition, Mr. Talibov noted that the Baku Tbilisi-Kars railway connecting Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey as well as the South Gas Corridor could prove advantageous to the region.
Mr. Talibov also shed light on the unresolved conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, a landlocked area contested by Armenia and Azerbaijan. Mr. Talibov stated that the conflict threatens the security of the region and thanked the Arkansas legislators for adopting a resolution that supports the sovereignty and integrity of the people of Azerbaijan by maintaining strategic partnerships with the U.S. As this year marked the 22nd anniversary of the Khojaly massacre, he reminded the attendees of the harrowing memory of the event and the drastic effects and injustices that come from it. During the night of February 25, 1992, a total of 613 people were killed, including 106 women and 83 children.
Based in Houston, Texas, TCAE is a non-profit organization intended to promote and increase relationships between Turkic Americans and the American community with a goal of fostering political and economic interests. TCAE is the regional federation serving in Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.
