OPINION:
At the August 8th peace treaty signing ceremony at the White House between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said something never heard from any head of state: “Today we are gathered at the most important capital of the world, at the most important office in the world, making a promise to keep the peace to the most important leader on the global stage – President Trump.”
These words set President Aliyev apart from any world leader who has met with President Trump. The President of Azerbaijan has leadership qualities that make him one of President Trump’s most important and trusted allies on the global stage. In a nutshell, President Trump can count on the unwavering support of Ilham Aliyev to be America’s partner for peace across the broader Middle East, a trusted ally for global energy security, an unabashed champion of religious freedom and possessing the vision to invest in the promise of ethical and responsible AI.
President Aliyev’s first gesture of genuine respect for the United States was to name the strategic land corridor between Azerbaijan and Armenia in honor of President Trump – Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP). One of the most important consequences of President Aliyev’s establishment of TRIPP is to have carved out a swath of territory bordering America’s number one enemy: the Islamic Republic of Iran. In addition, by allowing America to plant its flag in a region that Mr. Putin believes is Russia’s sphere of influence, President Aliyev has also disentangled Moscow from the energy-rich Caspian Sea region. In short, through TRIPP, President Aliyev has single-handedly elevated American national security for decades to come.
When you “drill, baby drill,” you must also “export, baby export.” And here again, Ilham Aliyev is President Trump’s most reliable partner for global energy security because he shares America’s goal of uninterrupted export of oil and gas from the energy-rich Caspian Sea basin to consumers across the globe. While some leaders, such as Mr. Putin and Ayatollah Khamenei, threaten global energy markets for their narrow political goals, President Aliyev sees eye to eye with President Trump that consumers worldwide must never be held hostage by energy cutoffs.
As a sign of Ilham Aliyev’s genuine respect for President Trump, the Azerbaijani President has already initiated calls to the President of Turkmenistan (Turkmenistan has the world’s fourth largest reserves of natural gas) to accelerate the building of a Trans-Caspian Pipeline to deliver gas to Europe and thus, lessen the reliance of the E.U. on Russian gas. Indeed, by making good on his handshake at the White House with President Trump, President Aliyev has enhanced global energy security.
During last Friday’s historic peace agreement, President Trump also alluded to the importance of respect for religious freedom. In fact, this issue is so important for the American President that he signed an Executive Order to elevate the issue to a foreign policy priority. Hereto, Donald Trump has a genuine partner in Ilham Aliyev, whose secular Muslim country is home to thriving Jewish, Baha’i and Christian communities. For example, while the evil of anti-Semitism has reared its ugly face across the world, Jews in Azerbaijan enjoy complete freedom to practice their faith.
In fact, relations between Israel and Azerbaijan are one of the most constructive anywhere across the Muslim world. And while Baha’is in neighboring Iran are harassed, persecuted and executed by the mullahs, President Aliyev considers this religious minority to be part of the multicultural fabric of his beautiful country. Indeed, if President Trump wanted a trusted partner on the global stage to advocate for religious tolerance, he could not find anyone better than Ilham Aliyev.
At last Friday’s White House event, both Presidents Trump and Aliyev mentioned AI. This fourth industrial revolution is poised to influence the global economy in unprecedented ways. Again, Donald Trump can count on Ilham Aliyev as his partner in realizing a vision to leverage AI for sustainable and positive economic impact. With a sovereign wealth fund of over $61 billion, President Aliyev is ready to work with Mr. Trump and the U.S. private sector to invest in U.S.-based AI companies and meet the promise of ethical and responsible AI. In fact, colleagues of the late Azerbaijan scientist and U.C. Berkeley Professor Lotfi Zadeh are currently working with the US Air Force on 3D image recognition for our MQ-9 drones. One can indeed envision another White House ceremony where Presidents Trump and Aliyev unveil a global AI initiative with great medical centers such as Johns Hopkins and the University of Utah to deliver state-of-the-art healthcare for billions across the world.
While President Aliyev will ensure that his country’s investment dollars flow into the U.S., his promise to President Trump to lay the red carpet for American businesses stands. In fact, since assuming power in 2003, President Aliyev has welcomed every single American business willing to invest in this beautiful country the size of South Carolina.
Trust is the foundation of genuine partnerships between leaders. On the global stage, Donald Trump cannot find another trusted partner than Ilham Aliyev to deliver on a vision of global peace and prosperity.
• S. Rob Sobhani, Ph.D. is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University
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