Monthly Newsletter of the US-educated Azerbaijan Alumni Association
December 2004- January 2005
www.aaa.org.az
AAA ACTIVITIES IN THE PAST 2 MONTHS
Vigil for Yusif Valiyev, 36 years old, Muskie Alumnus
As some of might know, Yusif Valiyev, Muskie alumnus, has died in a tragic car accident on Saturday, January 15. It is a
very very sad loss to the alumni community. Yusif was a great person and a very dear friend. He used to work at the US
embassy/ USAID and gained much respect both among expat and local staff. On January 18 he was supposed to leave
for the US to start his PHD program......
AAA had a vigil at the US-Azerbaijan Education Center on January 17 at 7 pm. More than 20 alumni of different programs
came to pay a last tribute to our dear friend. We put flowers and candles in Yusif's memory.
In memory of Yusif Valieyv, our dear friend and colleague:
“What a bad news. I can't believe it! I don't want to believe it.”- Nailya Aliyev, Muskie alumnus
“This is terrible!! Allah Rehmet Elesin! This is very very sad. Please send my condolences to his
family.” Leyla Mamedova, ECA alumnus
“I am deeply upset about this even and would like to express my deepest condolences to his family
and friends. May it be their last grief ever! Allah rehmet elesin!” Aygun Tagiyeva
“Again, with unexpected suddenness, death has come among us. Yusif has silently closed the door of
life and departed from us never again to return. The shock of his death is visibly and profoundly felt
by those with whom he had daily contact. Sorrow fills our hearts at this sad moment, a sorrow
that is deep and personal. His departure was sudden, unexpected and particlularly distressing!
Allah Rahmat Elesin! “ Afgan Abdullayev, Muskie and Fulbriight alumnus.
“What a tragedy! I can not believe that: our dearest Yusif, an outstanding fellow, greatest
personality...Spent couple hours with him and his family last August, he had magnificent plans for
his country. No words to express my sorrow. Please pass my deepest condolences to Irada, Anar
and the rest of Yusif's family. I still can't comprehend this. I wish it was a mistake.” Muzhgan
Nazarova, Muskie Alumnus.
“Yusif after his return from Indiana had been one, if not the most, active of the Muskie Alumni.
Initially it was his idea to hold an international Muskie Conference which then became the 10 Year
Muskie Reunion Pan Central Asian/Caucasus Silk Road Conference (Baku 2002). He was officially
recognized by ACCELS-DC as a leader among the wider Eurasian Muskie Community. When
ACCELS was located at its former office, Yusif often dropped by after his work in the political
section of the Embassy to discuss ideas, to offer his enthusiasm, and to mention unofficially his
political opinions and hopes.
I remember Yusif at official occasions where he always was sure to come over to offer his assistance
to the wider community. Yusif was one of the early supporters of the creation of an Alumni Center.
He had a relaxed and easy-going style, was always ready to smile and laugh. Although his position
at the Embassy did not facilitate his open expression of political opinion, in reply to my frequent and
honest expressions of political commentary he was always on the "correct" side of the discussion. I
got to know Yusif in various settings - formal gatherings at the Ambassador's residence, informal
meetings by candlelight in our previous office when the lights were not working, and at alumni
gatherings. I always respected Yusif highly and more than that, considered him my friend. I am
sorry for our and Azerbaijan's loss. And I am sorry for the sorrow his family must be enduring.”
Jeremy Tasch, former country director of ACCELS-Baku.
“Yusif's tragic death shocked me . I knew him from St. Petersburg where we studied at the
Petersburg University. I am unable to attend the ceremony the Center. Presently I am at Columbia
University. Please pass my condolences to Yusif's family.” Etibar Najafov, Fulbright alumnus.
Other AAA events:
January 18- AAA hosts the Turkish Ambassador
On January 18, AAA organized a very interesting event at the US-Azerbaijan education center. AAA hosted a guest
lecture by the Turkish ambassador in Azerbaijan Mr. Turan Morali. Mr. Ambassador spoke to alumni on the following
issues:
- Accession of Turkey into EU and its impact on Caucasus
- US-Turkish relations and the war in Iraq
- Current state of Turkish-Azeri relations
- Turkish-Armenian relations and the possibility of opening of the border
- Economic factors in the region
Questions and Answers from alumni followed the ambassador’s presentation. The event was facilitated by Mr. Elin
Suleymanov (Muskie alumnus and Senior Counselor on international relations at the President's Office).
December 2- Humanitarian work roundtable
AAA organized a round table discussion with Mr. Adam Leach, Regional Director of OXFAM, British NGO, for Middle
East, Eastern Europe and CIS countries. The guest made a presentation on the topic of "Caucasus at a crossroads: time
to think and act". He was lso joined by Wael Ibrahim, Regional Programme Manager for Middle East countries. Then
alumni had a chance to ask questions about Oxfam's work and the humanitarian activities in general.
AAA’s appendix to “Echo” newspaper
On December 25th, within the frames of AAA’s “Media Project”, funded by the US embassy, AAA
published second appendix to the Echo Newspaper which was devoted to the foreign policy issues in
Azerbaijan. Several alumni, such as Tabib Huseynov (U-Grad alumnus) and Vusala Ahmadova (UGrad alumnus) wrote their articles on various foreign policy topics in the country.
On January 29th, AAA published its third appendix to the Echo Newspaper which was devoted to
the economic issues in the country. The appendix features several articles, including the ones by
Elchin Abdullayev (Muskie Alumnus) and Jamal Ismaylov (U-Grad alumnus).
AAA plans to continue preparing and publishing thematic appendixes to Echo newspaper. So, please
submit articles on any issues of interest to the editor of the appendix Ayna Mollazadeh (Muskie
Alumnus- aynamollazade@hotmail.com). The articles can be of any style (analytical or op-ed) and
between 1000-1500 words in Russian language.
AAA Radio Program
On December 27, Sohrab Farkhadov, the secretary of AAA and Muskie alumnus spoke on Space
Radio within the frames of AAA Radio Programs. He spoke about the price increases in the country
in the last year and the role of monopolies in this process. The program turned out to be very
interesting as Sohrab provided a lot of interesting economic data and analysis.
Similarly, on January 29, Elshad Farzaliyev, AAA member and Muskie Alumnus, made a radio
presentation on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the foreign policy priorities of Azerbaijan.
STAY CONNECTED WITH OTHER FELLOWS
Fariz Ismailzade (FLEX and U-Grad alumnus), chairman of AAA- was invited to Washington DC to
participate in the annual conference of FLEX alumni as a guest speaker.
Jahangir Tagiyev (FLEX alumnus -1996) has established first Azeri Rugby Club in 2001 - Baku Rugby Club,
which was accepted into International Association of Rugby Federations of Europe (FIRA-AER) in 2004 at
congress in Mallorca, Spain.
GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER
ALUMNI PROFILES
Elchin Gadimov, AAA Member, Muskie Alumnus
Current job: Acting Chairman of the Board, AtaBank
E. Muskie Program University and year: MBA, Mitchell Business School, University of South
Alabama, 2002-2004
Dream job: CEO of Miramax
Current book that you are reading: The Process by Kafka
One reform that you would do urgently in Azerbaijan: Amnesty of black capital (“no questions
asked” policy on funds obtained in the past) followed by implementation of individual tax filing
system with further severe prosecution of violators.
Personal news: My son Murad who just turned 7 months has 2 new teeth 
Career plans in 10 years: To lead my bank to the number one spot in commercial banks chart and
to become a decision maker in the industry and influence the policy making process in the financial
sector in Azerbaijan.
One small story from the US experience: When our son was born in the States we were searching
for a name for him. We wanted a name, which would be easy to pronounce in English, Azeri and
Russian. My wife’s name is Nigar, so you can imagine what a hard time she had in the States. When
I called her at the mall, people would turn around and look at me  So we had to come up with a
nice name for our son. We did not want to give him an American name just because he might want
to return to the US one day. Our Azeri friends in Virginia named their son who was born in the
States Joshua. It was really hard to keep straight face when they happily announced this to us. It is
not that I have anything against name Joshua, but to me Zeynalov Joshua is a strange name
combination. To cut it short, our sons name is Gadimov Murad 
What are the strengths of Alumni? The fact that most people return home with an open mind,
strong education and enthusiasm to change things.