Washington briefing: Azerbaijani government seeks “diaspora” presence in Washington

by Emil Sanamyan and Lusine Sarkisyan

Published: Saturday October 11, 2008

Azerbaijani officials, Azerbaijanis resident in the United States, and others met on October 1-2 in Washington to discuss ways to establish a more effective "diaspora" presence in Washington that could counter the influence of the Armenian community.

For more than a decade, Azerbaijan has mainly relied on paid lobbyists to advance its agenda in the United States. In addition, several years ago Azerbaijan also established a State Committee for Work with Azerbaijanis Living Abroad (SCWALA) to supplement its lobbying via support for ethnic Azerbaijani individuals and entities.

In the United States over the past year, recent Azerbaijani immigrants created the U.S. Azeris Network (USAN) that apparently seeks to replace the Azerbaijani Society of America, established by World War II-era émigrés in the 1950s as the main vehicle for Azerbaijani community lobbying.

Apparently wary of unwanted guests, SCWALA and USAN co-organized last week's conference, titled "Diaspora and Energy Security in the Development of the U.S.-Azerbaijan Strategic Allied Relations," at an initially undisclosed location in Washington.

According to a pre-conference announcement at www.usazeris.org, only pre-approved guests who could confirm their identity were to be permitted to attend.