WHEREAS,  Azerbaijani-Americans are an ethnic community with a recognized presence in our State, actively contributing to the regional diversity, intercultural understanding, peace and prosperity; and

WHEREAS,  the Republic of Azerbaijan was proclaimed on May 28, 1918 and became the first secular democratic republic in the Turkic and Muslim world, among the first nation-states granting universal suffrage rights, and was recognized by other democratic nations, including the United States of America; and

WHEREAS,  the Republic of Azerbaijan was an independent state from 1918 to 1920 and was a constituent state of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from 1922 to 1991. On October 18, 1991, the Parliament of Azerbaijan adopted the Constitutional Act of State Independence from the Soviet Union; and

WHEREAS,  the Republic of Azerbaijan has an area of 33,400 square miles, including the enclave of Nakchivan and Karabakh region, and it is situated in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia; and

WHEREAS,  the territorial integrity, state sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan have been unconditionally recognized and supported by the United States since 1992; and

WHEREAS,  every year for the last 93 years, Azerbaijanis around the globe, who are one of the largest ethnic groups in the world with an estimated 45 million people, observe May 28th as National Day and remember the contribution of their forebears to the spread of democracy in the regions of the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Middle East; and

WHEREAS,  as the continuation of its founders’ guiding principles and promotion of common values of humanity and democracy, the Republic of Azerbaijan is a staunch ally and a strategic partner of the United States; and

WHEREAS,  the Republic of Azerbaijan is an active member of the NATO Partnership for Peace program, and Azerbaijan troops participated side by side with Americans in the peacemaking operations in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq; now, therefore, be it