We admire the will and courage of Heydar Aliyev and are amazed at how he leads his country, located in a very dangerous region of the world. We are impressed by the very warm hospitality of Mr. President, his open and bold views, as well as his ability to exchange ideas.

Thanks to your merits, a strong relationship based on friendship and cooperation has been established between the United States and Azerbaijan. I am confident that the challenges we face will soon and successfully be overcome thanks to your strong leadership. We have deep respect for you.

Mr. President, I have already been to Azerbaijan and I am very glad to meet you today. I want to congratulate you on the progress achieved under your leadership since the country’s independence. To be frank, it is not possible for many people to make such progress in a short period of time.

Compared to my previous visit to Azerbaijan, this time I observed enormous changes, and this progress is really fascinating.