Mr. Shahmar Movsumov, the Executive Director of the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Mr. Carl Cottrell, Advisor for Eurasia of Chevron Oil Company spoke at the event organized by the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles and Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce on May 1st, 2008.

In his opening speech, Consul General Mr. Elin Suleymanov greeted the participants of the event and spoke about the latest achievements of the developing economy of Azerbaijan.

Mr. Shahmar Movsumov briefed participants about SOFAZ's activity and gave information on the investments of the Fund and the growth rate of its budget. Noting the rapid development of the State Oil Fund, the Executive Director shed light on the issues raised by the participants regarding the legislative base of the Fund. Mr. Movsumov stated that the State Oil Fund will be playing a significant role in securing the successful future of Azerbaijan.

Representative of Chevron Corporation Carl Cottrell gave a speech on the activity of the company in the region and important role that Azerbaijan plays in the region from company's perspective. During his speech he underlined the importance of Baku-Tbilisi-Jeyhan oil and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipelines not only for Azerbaijan but for the rest of the region as well.

Among participants of the event were also Executive Director of US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce Mahir Iskander , member of Beverly Hills city council Jimmy Delshad, California State Controller John Chiang, representatives of the consular corps in Los Angeles, various managers and representatives of leading financial companies, representatives of Jewish community of California.

It should be noted that Executive Director of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan, Mr. Shahmar Movsumov also had been invited to give a speech at the Global Conference held by Milken Institute which took place on 28-30 April in Los Angeles. A number of well-known and leading US and international companies participated in this conference. Among the participants were Governor of California - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nobel Laureates : Gary Becker, Edmund Phelps, Myron Scholes, Michael Spence, Mohammad Yunus, US officials representing energy, transportation and other areas as well as representatives from major international investment funds and banks.