FIRST LADY MEHRIBAN ALIYEVA PLANS U.S. VISIT THIS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 001272 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR AND R E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR KPAO SCUL AJ SUBJECT: FIRST LADY MEHRIBAN ALIYEVA PLANS U.S. VISIT THIS FALL Classified By: Ambassador Anne E. Derse per 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (U) This is an action request; see para 4. ¶2. (SBU) During an August 28 lunch meeting with the Ambassador, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva said that neither she nor President Aliyev will travel to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. She said that President Aliyev has other commitments at that time. Mrs. Aliyeva added that she very much regrets thatQe will be unable to attend the White House Conference on Global Literacy, and hopes that she will have the opportunity to meet U.S. First Lady Laura Bush when she travels to the U.S. later this fall. ¶3. (SBU) Mrs. Aliyeva said she plans an official trip to the United States sometime between early November and late December. While in the United States, Mrs. Aliyeva plans to conduct a mix of official and personal business. She said she is thinking of a two or three city tour, over a period of five to six days to include, possibly, New York, Los Angeles and Washington, DC. Mrs. Aliyeva said that she definitely would like to include a stop in Washington on her agenda, and very much would like to meet Mrs. Bush at that time. As chair of the U.S.-Azerbaijan interparliamentary working group, Mrs. Aliyeva said she also would like to meet with her U.S. counterparts on the Hill, as well as other interested members of Congress. Her trip will have a cultural focus, but she has not yet decided on specific cultural events to be included in her program. Highlighting the Heydar Aliyev Foundation's ability to organize conferences, Mrs. Aliyeva also discussed with the Ambassador the idea of a possible international conference in Baku in the spring with religious tolerance, a value the U.S. and Azerbaijan share, as the theme. ¶4. (C) Comment and Action Requested: Mrs. Aliyeva is widely regarded as an up-and-coming player on Azerbaijan's political scene. As a newly elected Member of Parliament and head of Parliament's U.S.-Azerbaijan group, Chair of the extremely influential Heydar Aliyev Foundation (that promotes Azerbaijan's culture and history, and is engaged in an intensive campaign to build schools throughout Azerbaijan), and a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Mrs. Aliyeva exerts influence and power in a broad range of Azerbaijani circles. She expressed strong interest in significantly deepening U.S.-Azerbaijan cultural and people-to-people ties and sought the Ambassador's assistance in planning her visit, including with respect to dates that might permit her to meet U.S. First Lady Laura Bush. Her upcoming visit presents an excellent opportunity to further advance the bilateral relationship. We welcome Washington's input and support for Aliyeva's visit and will send our ideas shortly. We also would welcome, in particular, R's support in developing the idea of an international conference on religious tolerance. DERSE