US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce

The United States-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC) is an "independent, non-profit American organization, whose purpose is to facilitate business and cooperation between the American people and the people of Azerbaijan," its website states. USACC is a nonprofit corporation in the District of Columbia and is recognized as a 501(c)(6) tax-exempt organization under the Internal Revenue Code.

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Goals

The stated goals of the USACC are:

• To facilitate and encourage trade and investment in Azerbaijan;
• To provide a forum for members to interact with policy makers from Azerbaijan and the United States as well as with non-governmental experts.
• To serve as a liaison with governmental and non-governmental entities, business organizations, think tanks, and to encourage cooperation and information exchange;
• To provide reliable information and networking services and create an environment where partnerships and exchanges thrive;
• To sponsor educational programs, trade missions, seminars, conferences and publications to foster cultural and business interests;
• To create more understanding and knowledge about the Republic of Azerbaijan in the United States through the Azerbaijan Trade and Cultural Center; and
• To develop and maintain humanitarian programs for the refugee population of Azerbaijan.

Members

See current list of USACC members.

Azerbaijan Trade and Cultural Center

The USACC also owns and operates The Azerbaijan Trade and Cultural Center, which is a "four-story historic building ... located in the heart of Georgetown at 1212 Potomac Street." The Azerbaijan Trade and Cultural Center was inaugurated by His Excellency Heydar Aliyev, President, Republic of Azerbaijan on September 11, 2000.

Officers

The following are officers of the USACC.

Honorary Council of Advisors

• James Addison Baker III
• Zbigniew Brzezinski
• Henry Kissinger
• Brent Scowcroft
• John Sununu

Former members

• Lloyd Bentsen
• Dick Cheney (resigned November 2000)

Chairman Emeritus

• T. Don Stacy

Co-Chairmen of the Board

• James A. Baker, IV, Partner, Baker Botts, L.L.P.
• Reza Vaziri, President, R.V. Investment Group

Board of Directors

"The business affairs of USACC are managed by its Board of Directors which is composed of distinguished individuals with an interest in the U.S.-Azerbaijan relationship.

• Shapoor Ansari, MD
• Halim Atesh, General Manager, Azercell Telecom
• Tim Cejka, President, ExxonMobil Exploration Co.
• Farhad Azima, Chairman & CEO, Aviation Leasing Group
• Betty Blair, Editor, Azerbaijan International
• Stanley Escudero, President, Shield Bearer
• Michael Griffin, Vice President, International Operations, Devon Energy
• Jahangir Hajiyev, Chairman, International Bank of Azerbaijan
• Arne Holhjem, President, Caspian Region ConocoPhilips
• Greg Saunders, Director, International Affairs, BP
• Diana Sedney, Manager, International Government Relations for Chevron
• Gregory K. Williams, Strategic Security Manager, Coca Cola

Former members of the Board of Directors

• Richard Armitage (resigned February 2001)
• Farhad Azima
• Howard Chase
• Dick Cheney
• Don Condon
• Nader Fahm
• Andrew Fawthrop
• Mike Kostiw
• David Sambrooks

Board of Trustees

"The USACC Board of Trustees is a group of Americans and Azerbaijanis interested in promoting friendship, cooperation and commerce between the American people and the people of Azerbaijan. The Board of Trustees offers its recommendations to the USACC Board of Directors on all matters related to the Chambers programs and activities.

• Abdullah Akyuz, President, TUSIAD-US Inc.
• Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan
• Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
• Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), U.S. Senator
• Frank Henke, Chairman, American Bank & Trust Company
• Richard Moncrief, Chairman, Moncrief Oil International
• Hafiz Pashayev, Ambassador
• Richard N. Perle
• Joseph R. Pitts, (R-Penn.), U.S. Senator
• Frank Verrastro, Director and Senior Fellow in the CSIS Energy Program

Former members Board of Trustees

• John Roberts
• Stephen Robertson
• Nancy Tuomey

Officers

• Mahir Iskender, USACC Executive Director & Secretary
• Taleh Ziyadov, USACC Deputy Executive Director
• Legal Counsel, Baker Botts, L.L.P.

Former officers

• Theodore Jonas, Legal Counsel & Secretary
  
• Karl Mattison, Treasurer
  
• Seymour Khalilov, Executive Director
  

Contact information

US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce
1212 Potomac Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20007
Phone: 202 333-8702
Fax: 202 333-8703
E-mail: chamber AT usacc.org
URL: http://www.usacc.org/

Resources

External articles

• "Announcing The US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce," Azerbaijan International, Spring 1996. "The Chamber extends deep appreciation to the following companies which have contributed to its establishment: Amoco, BP America, Chevron, Exxon, Mobil, Occidental, Panalpina, and Unocal."
• Caspian Watch #5: "Senator Byrd Takes the Lead in Securing U.S. Access To 200 Billion Barrels of Oil in the Caspian Sea," Center for Security Policy, February 1997. "This conference, sponsored by the US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC), involved some 300 participants, including: Sen. Robert Byrd, former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, "former Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard N. Perle, former Deputy Energy Secretary William White, U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Richard Kauzlarich, Azerbaijan's Ambassador to the U.S. Hafiz Pashayev and the former U.S. mediator on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict Ambassador John Maresca."
• Derek Nowek, "Azeri Chamber of Commerce and Industry Promotes Foreign Trade and Investment," BISNIS, May 2001.
• "TDA Awards WTO Technical Assistance Grant to Azerbaijan," Trade & Export News, March 2, 2002.
• Larry Chin, "Unocal and the Afghanistan pipeline," OnlineJournal (GlobalResearch.ca), March 6, 2002.
• Armen Georgian, "U.S. Eyes Caspian Oil In 'War On Terror," ZNet, May 1, 2002. Armenian National Committee, San Francisco/Bay Area web site. Also see Centre for Research on Globalization version.
• "President Aliyev Visits Washington," Azerbaijan Newsletter, Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Washington, D.C., February 28, 2003.
• David Case, "The Crude Doctrine," MotherJones, July/August 2004. See page 3.

External resources

• US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce Fellowships/The Caspian Studies Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.