Great Britain is one of the major centers of modern world politics, a hub of financial and business activity on the planet. For Azerbaijan, Britain is among the most important political and economic partners and an important investor in the economy of the country.
Elin Suleymanov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan to the UK, Ireland, Denmark, and Iceland, has kindly agreed to answer our questions. The interview had to be split due to its length and the following is the first part.
On Azerbaijan’s importance to Britain and the role of education in strengthening the ties
When we talk about Great Britain in Azerbaijan, the first thing that comes to mind of an average citizen in Baku is BP, the main foreign player in the oil and gas sector and investor in our country. But British business here is not just BP. What is your overall opinion of the business activity between our countries?
Our bilateral relations are very strong, especially in economy. This is not even because Britain was one of the first foreign economies to come to Azerbaijan, which, by the way, is true. Great Britain is the biggest foreign investor in Azerbaijan. These investments are of course mainly in the energy sector. BP’s role in this is enormous. But it also shows that both Britain, as a state, and BP, as a company, understood the importance and strategic value of the policy pursued by the Azerbaijani leadership. That is, they recognized from the very beginning that the oil strategy of the national leader of the Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev and the energy vision of our President Ilham Aliyev really reflect the global interests, being focused on the future of the region. That is why they work with us and continue to invest. At this point, as you know, it is not just energy, we are talking today about solar energy in the liberated territories, we are talking about new projects. In particular, the British company Chapman Taylor is developing master plans for the liberated cities of Jabrayil and Shusha, and British companies are working in the road construction in Azerbaijan. One of the indicators of Britain’s position is that it was one of the first Western states to allocate funds for the demining of the territories liberated from the occupation, and they often talk here about the mine problem we are experiencing. Britain, as a foreign country, has made a great contribution to the support of the demining process. The main effort, of course, is being made by Azerbaijan itself, but the fact that Britain was the first to get involved in this issue is actually a positive factor. Just the other day, there was an interesting demining-related event in the British Parliament. People are beginning to understand what Azerbaijan is facing, how difficult it is, and how Azerbaijan is trying to resolve the problem in a positive way.
By the way, one of the first Western parliamentary delegations to visit Shusha last November was a delegation from the British Parliament, headed by the chair of the Azerbaijan All-Party Parliamentary Group, Bob Blackman. That is, they were the first Western MPs to visit Shusha after the liberation, which is quite telling.
Britain also plays a big role by cooperating with Azerbaijan in preventing drug trafficking on our southern border, another important area for us.
I would like to highlight Baroness Emma Nicholson’s recent visit to Azerbaijan, specifically the fact that she is the British Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for Azerbaijan. Isn’t it revealing that the British Prime Minister has a special trade envoy for Azerbaijan? Not every country has such a representative of the British Prime Minister, which is a proof of the high level of our relations in itself.
Another recent very positive development is the establishment of the British-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce. It operates both in Azerbaijan and the UK. Of course, I would like the United Kingdom to be more active, and work is underway in this area.
What do you think about the Azerbaijani-British cooperation in the field of education?
This is one of the most important areas of our relations. There are a lot of Azerbaijani students studying in Great Britain today both through state and private programs. This is a positive phenomenon, taking into account the indisputably high quality of British education. Another positive factor is that Azerbaijani students studying here tie our two countries with quite strong bonds. They study, receive education, find friends here, some start a family, and in this way, I think, relations are strengthened.
Are there any plans to further expand existing educational programs or add new ones that would allow more of our young people to study in the UK?
As you know, Azerbaijan has a state program to support the education of Azerbaijani citizens abroad. A significant portion of this support is allocated to students studying in Great Britain. And it is natural, because the language is English, the universities are of a high level, and the specialization is relevant. So, in this respect, I understand this program is moving forward and with it the number of students who come to Britain, and not only to Britain, is increasing. Besides, Britain itself has a couple of programs that also bring our students here to study. In other words, there is a development in this respect. This is an indicator of the long-term strategy, the vision of the Azerbaijani leadership in the sense that there is support for this kind of study abroad programs. I think this is a necessary contribution to the future of our country. I would like to mention here the great contribution of the Ministry of Science and Education and Minister Emin Amrullayev in particular.
Elizabeth II was quite well familiar with Azerbaijan
Speaking of Great Britain, it is impossible not to mention one of the most important events in the world in recent months and, as far as Britain is concerned, probably the most significant one: the death of Queen Elizabeth II. How would you describe her significance for our bilateral relations and what insights would you share about her as someone who knew the monarch personally?
This is a very interesting topic. It is probably even more about modern Britain itself, whose image and identity were in fact built to some extent around the person of Queen Elizabeth II, because she remained on the throne for 70 years. A lot has changed over that time. She ascended the throne in 1952, many countries have left the British Empire since then, there have been global changes in the world, the collapse of the USSR, several wars and other events that have shaken and changed the world, and Elizabeth’s role as monarch, who was a cornerstone in the perception of Britain itself, was very important. It was a stabilizing role. That is, many people who lived then and live now, including in Britain itself, were born during her reign, they did not know any other monarch. So, of course, her role was very significant for Britain.
And for us, of course, since the restoration of Azerbaijan’s independence and the establishment of diplomatic relations, Elizabeth II has been the head of the British state. It was to her that our ambassadors presented their credentials, it was with her that our head of state President Ilham Aliyev met, and it was with her that the correspondence went on. Notably, for example, when I presented my credentials, I did it via video link at Buckingham Palace because of COVID. But it was very interesting, because it must have been a historic moment too, because there probably will not be video presentations of credentials anymore in the future. We probably caught a turning point in history in this way.
The late Queen, by the way, was quite well familiar with Azerbaijan. As you know, for her Platinum Jubilee, Mr. President gave her the Karabakh horse Shokhret, a very beautiful horse, as a gift, and she was delighted. There are two photos, one of which shows her at the moment when she is being presented with the horse, and the other shows her watching a magnificent, unique performance by our equestrians at the Royal Windsor Horse Show dedicated to her.
And the picture of her smiling at that moment was published in all the local media. She was so impressed with our horses, our specialists. This, of course, is a great success. The Queen often talked about Azerbaijani horses, members of the royal family and other representatives spoke about it on her behalf as well. That is, a purely cultural connection was established. At Elizabeth II’s funeral, Azerbaijan was represented by Milli Majlis Speaker Sahiba Gafarova.
I have not yet seen any changes with the departure of Elizabeth II, and it is too early to talk about it. King Charles III has ascended the throne, but has not yet been crowned. You have to give this to the Queen: even the mourning over her death has united the world and thereby showed once again what Great Britain is on a global scale. Leaders from all over the world came to say their goodbyes to her. And perhaps the best and most vivid evidence of her contribution to the bilateral relations with Azerbaijan is the fact that Mr. President visited the British Embassy in person to leave a note in the condolence book. My counterpart Mr. Fergus Auld, UK Ambassador to Azerbaijan, spoke about that recently. This is really a very important indicator, and the British side, by the way, has repeatedly expressed its gratitude to Mr. President for personally demonstrating his feelings towards Great Britain in general and the Queen in particular.
Before your appointment to Great Britain, you worked in the United States for a long time, first at the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles and then at our embassy in Washington. You have been the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Great Britain for a year now. What is the difference between being the ambassador to the United States and being the ambassador to the United Kingdom?
Indeed, I lived and studied in the United States for a long time, I worked at the embassy under Hafiz Pashayev. Later I was the first Consul General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles. We opened the Consulate General of Azerbaijan, that was a great event in itself. First of all, I am very grateful to the Azerbaijani government for the trust that they put in me. It was very interesting to come to Los Angeles and open a Consulate General in a place where there had never been an Azerbaijani diplomatic mission and the Armenian factor was dominant. I worked for another 10 years as the ambassador to the United States in Washington, in the midst of political battles in this country: the election of President Obama, Trump’s coming to power and then Biden’s arrival. I happened to be present at the inaugurations of these three presidents. It was an interesting process. Of course, there is a big difference with Great Britain. The United States is a big country, even in terms of size. It takes 6 hours to fly from Washington to Los Angeles, longer than from Baku to London. Because America is very diverse, Washington, D.C., in the east and Los Angeles in the west are literally different worlds, different environments. The United Kingdom is different in that respect. There is a lot of diversity here too, say, Scotland is different from England, England is different from Wales and so on, but the scale is still different.
However, politically, Britain has a more stable view of world processes, of global issues, of the developments taking place in the world. The British are more familiar with our region and Europe as a whole. Although, at the same time, Britain and the United States have a lot in common, and not just language. The desire to deal with issues independently is characteristic of both of these countries. They like to be a member of an organization, but they do not like it when someone makes decisions for them in international organizations. This was the underlying cause of Brexit, and this was the underlying cause of the United States’ behavior in many organizations. This is an important point to keep in mind. And, of course, unlike Washington and Los Angeles, London has very little sun and a lot of rain. This, of course, also affects people’s temperament. Americans are in some ways a more open society. They are more open and easier to engage than people in the more established, more conservative Britain.
On the gift for “Iron Arnie” and Azerbaijan’s friends in the Armenian “playground”
Are there any interesting, perhaps funny stories from your practice you recall off the top of your head that you could share with our readers?
There was a lot of interesting stuff. I have been working in Britain for a relatively short time, but in Los Angeles, and in Washington, D.C., there have been quite a few interesting incidents. For example, there was an episode in Los Angeles many years ago, in the last couple of months of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s governorship, when someone happened to bring in a carpet woven in Azerbaijan with his portrait on it. I was asked to give this carpet to him. We thought for a long time how to do this. Finally, we met with Schwarzenegger and gave him the carpet. He was surprised, even impressed, he liked that he looked much younger on the carpet than he did in real life. But he kept asking me questions, he said, “I had no idea I had so many fans in Azerbaijan”. This incident, by the way, caused a big negative reaction from the Armenians, because they were afraid that the carpet would make such an impression on Schwarzenegger that he would change his views.
Los Angeles is known for having a fairly strong Armenian diaspora. But there is probably an even stronger Iranian diaspora there. There is even a place called Tehrangeles in Los Angeles. It is a diverse diaspora, with different groups in it, and there are a lot of our brothers, South Azerbaijanis, there. A very interesting diaspora. Take, for example, the richest city in the United States per capita, Beverly Hills. It is actually a magnificent, beautiful place, and the Jewish-Iranian community is very seriously represented there, and its members treat us very well. Their culture is quite close to that of our Mountain Jews, and the mayor of the city, Jimmy Delshad, an Iranian Jew, visited Azerbaijan. By the way, in 2008, the Beverly Hills City Council passed a resolution that specifically commemorated Heydar Aliyev’s 85th birthday. That is, there were warm enough feelings towards us—in California, a state that is quite difficult for us for obvious reasons. And the friendliness of the Jewish-Iranian community towards us has played its role.
Former US presidential candidate using Heydar Aliyev’s lessons
There have been many such interesting instances. The Western states themselves are very interesting. From Los Angeles we oversaw 13 Western states, including Hawaii and Alaska. We opened an Honorary Consulate in Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico. The governor of the state at the time was former US Secretary of Energy, former presidential candidate from the Democratic Party, a great friend of Azerbaijan, who often visited our country, Bill Richardson. When we met in 2010, he not only spoke warmly of his visits to Azerbaijan but also mentioned Heydar Aliyev’s strategic vision. He was telling me about his meeting with our national leader, and all of a sudden he said, “I have learnt a lot from your former President and I still use some of his lessons for myself.” See, you come to New Mexico, you meet the governor, famous American politician, in Santa Fe, and he uses lessons he learned from Heydar Aliyev in his work and life. How can I not be proud to be an Azerbaijani? Remember Heydar Aliyev’s famous words? You are already proud to be an Azerbaijani, and then you come to Santa Fe, and at a meeting with the governor you hear something that makes you even more proud. I mean, I had those great moments in life that taught me a lot. Azerbaijan’s prestige was growing before our eyes. That is, representing Azerbaijan is becoming an increasingly honorable and, at the same time, high-stakes mission each year. Azerbaijan’s significance is growing, and the Azerbaijani leadership’s policy is aimed at strengthening our international image and influence. Naturally, this imposes certain responsibility on all of us. Especially diplomats. You start as an ambassador or a consul general, but essentially, as your country’s influence grows, you also have to somehow keep up with it. I think it is an interesting process that is not easy to grasp.
It is essential that Azerbaijan continue to present itself to the world as an advanced state in the region, as a tolerant country striving for overall integration of the region. Now there is an ongoing process of unification across the region, integration with Central Asia, with Turkey, Georgia and further into Eastern Europe. Look at the support and enthusiasm that the President of Azerbaijan is receiving in this part of the world. Look at the recent opening of the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria. It is clear that it was President Ilham Aliyev who was in the spotlight. Because it is Azerbaijan that has been pursuing the kind of policy that allows these events to take place. We need to continue this, it is very important.
In relations with Armenia, it is in its own interest to hear us. We offer Armenians the opening of communications, normalization, a bright future for their own children, and what do they want? These attempts to always go deep down into history, mythology, to focus on their ethnic fixations—this, frankly, simply has no future. But I hope that there are enough sensible people both in Armenia and in their community, in the diaspora. I believe we still need to somehow separate the diaspora and the lobby. Because while the Armenian lobby is a deliberate effort to undermine the peace process, a negative, destructive activity, the Armenian diaspora is not all made up of such radicals. There are many people who simply went abroad seeking a better life than the one they had in their homeland. Overall, Armenians need to realize that Armenia’s future lies in the normalization of relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey. We need them to understand this. Of course, it is sometimes strange that we have to convince the Armenian side that normalization will benefit Armenia in the first place. But what can we do? We have traditions of state independence, while they have obviously been less fortunate with their leaders, as well as with the way they have handled their formal independence.
To be continued
Yalchin Aliyev
Translated from 1news.az