Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov will visit the United States of America March 19-23, the press service of the Foreign Ministry said. The invitation to visit the US came from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Azer-TAj news agency reported. The Azerbaijani Minister is due to meet with the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York on the first day of his trip on Monday. A day after his meeting with the UN chief, Mammadyarov will head to Washington for talks with high-ranking officials at the U.S. State Department, the Bush Administration, Congress and the National Security Council. On Thursday, the Azerbaijan Minister will meet with Condoleezza Rice, and the two countries will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on energy cooperation. The Foreign Minister is also scheduled to give a speech at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and meet with representatives of non-governmental organizations.
