On April 16, President Heydar Aliyev met with the Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Shelby and Senator Bill Nelson. At the meeting, Senator Shelby stressed Azerbaijan’s strategic importance and the importance of expanding and strengthening of the bilateral U.S. – Azerbaijani ties. Mr. Shelby called for repeal of Section 907 and expressed his support for completing the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in the near future.

*Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Fuel and Energy was established on April 18 by a Presidential decree. Minister Mejid Kerimov, an energy specialist, was appointed to head the new agency.

Foreign Minister Irakli Menagirishvili visited Washington, DC on March 19-20. He met with the U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice and Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. During the visit, Minister Menagirishvili held intensive discussions on bilateral and regional issues. The U.S. officials reiterated the Administration’s support for Georgia’s independence and regional projects in the strategically important South Caucasus. Cooperation within the GUUAM framework and development and transportation of Caspian energy resources were also among the topics discussed.

The Moldovan Parliament granted a vote of confidence to a new Government led by a 37-old businessman Vasile Tarlev, former director-general of a private candy factory. Six out of 14 ministers from the previous Cabinet retained their positions, including Deputy Premier Cucu and Foreign Minister Cernomaz. Speaking about his Government’s foreign policy, Mr. Tarlev stated that it would be aimed at developing mutually beneficial relations with all countries of the world and implementation of the national strategy of Moldova's integration into the European Union.

*Ukrainian aviators completed modernization of the world's largest airplane and plan its first test flight on April 17. The An-225 Mriya is currently undergoing ground tests. The project was implemented by the Kyiv-based Antonov aviation design bureau and Ukraine's Motor-Sich company. The project cost reached $20 million. The six-engine plane, which has a wingspan of 291 feet, first flew in 1988 and was intended to transport the Soviet Buran space shuttle. The modernized An-225 plane is capable of carrying 271 tons of cargo for a distance of 2,790 miles.

President Islam Karimov visited Germany on 4-5 April, where he met with German President Johannes Rau and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. The sides discussed the current state and prospects of bilateral relations, and also issues relating to the further development of political and economic cooperation between the two countries, security in Central Asia, the joint struggle against international terrorism and extremism, organized crime and illegal trade in arms and drugs. A wide range of bilateral agreements was signed during the President’s official visit.

*On April 10, President Karimov received the Chairman of the Supreme Islamic Council of America, Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, and the leader of the Naqshbandi order, Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani, in Tashkent. During the talks Shaykh Qabbani highly assessed the ongoing reforms and freedom of worship in Uzbekistan.