AZERBAIJAN SIGNS A $2.4 MILLION, YEARLONG CONTRACT WITH THE LOBBY FIRM FABIANI & CO. TO CONDUCT OUTREACH IN THE UNITED STATES
arminfo
Thursday, December 8, 13:12
ArmInfo-Turan. A new nonprofit supporting Azerbaijan is setting up
shop in Washington to provide a counterbalance to the Armenian-American
lobby, The Hill writes.
“Azerbaijan and Armenia blame each other for the conflict over the
territory, and the U.S. has been pushing for a peaceful resolution
to the dispute. Now the Azerbaijan America Alliance is coming to
Washington in a bid to make some influential friends.
The group hosted its coming-out party Tuesday night at the Reserve
Officers Association on Capitol Hill, holding a reception meant
to serve as an introduction to power players on Capitol Hill and
Embassy Row. Several lawmakers were expected to attend, along with
the ambassador for Azerbaijan to the United States.
Founded by Anar Mammadov, a young Azerbaijani businessman and son
of the country’s transportation minister, the Alliance hopes to
highlight the ties between Azerbaijan and the United States, whether
it’s through energy or national- security interests.
Mammadov told The Hill he loves his country and wants to do his duty
to help it. “I think [the Alliance] can bring these two countries
together,” Mammadov said. “I think America is one of the biggest
friends of Azerbaijan.”
The one other individual listed in the leadership of the Alliance
is Khayal Sharifzade, the group’s chairman. Sharifzade is the former
CEO and chairman of the Bank of Azerbaijan.
Sharifzade is also a member of the board of directors of ZQAN
Holdings. Mammadov is founder, president and chairman of that company,
which is based in Baku, Azerbaijan, and has interests in oil and gas,
construction and telecommunications.
According to Justice Department records filed in May, the Alliance
signed a $2.4 million, yearlong contract with the lobby firm Fabiani &
Co. to conduct outreach in the United States. Jim Fabiani, a longtime
GOP lobbyist and former chairman and CEO of Cassidy & Associates,
is leading the effort.
The Azerbaijan group is playing catch-up with Armenia, which has had
a lobbying presence in Washington for decades.
Lobbyists for the Alliance will likely highlight that Azerbaijan is now
a member of the United Nations’ Security Council and is contributing
troops to NATO forces in Afghanistan. The nation, which is in the
Caucasus region on the Europe-Asia border, has a wealth of energy
resources, helping to provide oil and natural gas to Europe.
The country’s poor human-rights record could prevent the group from
gaining much traction, however. The State Department’s 2010 Human
Rights Report on Azerbaijan said the country has flawed elections,
allows arbitrary arrests for political reasons and restricts the press.
“Once again we’re seeing millions being spent by a foreign government
entity – in this case, the son of billionaire Azerbaijani Transport
Minister Ziya Mammadov – to whitewash his country’s abysmal
human-rights record and aggression against Karabakh and Armenia,”
said Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National
Committee of America, in a statement.
Here in Washington, the Alliance will have an agenda to push.
One item will be lobbying on the Freedom Support Act, a 1992 law passed
by Congress to aid former Soviet provinces in their transition to
democracy. One provision of that law bans direct aid to the Azerbaijani
government, which the Alliance will work to reverse.
The Alliance is looking to expand and is advertising to hire
an executive director for the group. But once it settles down
in Washington, the group can expect a rough reception from its
Armenian-American counterparts.
“It doesn’t change the fact that the Azeri government continues to
make threats against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh,” said Bryan
Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian Assembly of America,
the paper writes.