AAFSW cordially invites you to a stimulating and informative panel discussion on “Foreign Policy Expectations in the New Administration” on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. at the Marshall Auditorium of the State Department in Washington, DC.

The panel will feature Ambassador Elin Suleymanov from the Embassy of Azerbaijan, Ambassador Ashok Kumar Mirouri from the Embassy of the Republic of Singapore, and Dr. Douglas Macgregor, writer and retired U.S. Army Colonel.

Our distinguished speakers will analyze the expectations the world has of the new U.S. administration regarding diplomatic, geo-political and military strategic balances. During the President Obama’s administration, the world experienced significant changes regarding the economy, migration, geographical and territorial shifts, and international political agendas. The international community is anticipating and speculating on the approach that the new administration led by President-Elect Trump will take on similar issues. There will be a question and answer session at the end of each speaker’s presentation.

Ambassador Elin Suleymanov was appointed as Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to the United States of America by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in October 2011. Prior to that, for over five years, Ambassador Suleymanov had been the nation’s first Consul General to Los Angeles and the Western States, leading the team that established an Azerbaijani diplomatic presence on the West Coast.

Previously, he served as Senior Counselor at the Foreign Relations Department, Office of the PResident in Baku, Azerbaijan, and as Press Officer of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Washington, DC. His experience before joining the diplomatic service includes working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Azerbaijan and Glaverbel Czech, a leading manufacturing company in East-Central Europe.

Ambassador Ashok Kumar Mirpuri took up his appointment as Singapore’s Ambassador to the United States of America in July 2012. Prior to his current appointment, he served as Ambassador to Indonesia from 2006 to 2012, High Commissioner to Malaysia from 2002 to 2006, and High Commissioner to Australia from 2000 to 2002.

As a career diplomat, Ambassador Mirpuri joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in 1984. In 1994, he was appointed Director of the MFA’s Policy Planning & Analysis Directorate I (Southeast Asia). In 1997, he was seconded to Shell International Ltd. in the United Kingdom as Corporate Advisor (Asia Pacific). He was subsequently assigned to the Singapore Embassy in Jakarta in 1998 as Minister-Counsellor and Deputy Chief of Mission, having previously served in Jakarta as First Secretary (Political).

Dr. Douglas Macgregor is a decorated combat veteran, the author of five books, a PhD holder, and the executive VP of Burke-Macgregor Group LLC, a defense and foreign policy consulting firm in Reston, VA. He was commissioned in the Regular Army in 1976 after one year at Virginia Military Academy and four years at West Point. Macgregor retired with the rank of colonel in 2004. He holds an MA in comparative politics and a PhD in international relations from the University of Virginia.

In 28 years of service, Macgregor taught in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point, commanded the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry, and served as the Director of the Joint Operations Center at SHAPE in 1999 during the Kosovo Air Campaign. He was awarded the Defense Superior Service medal for his role in the Kosovo Air Campaign. Since leaving the Army, Macgregor has worked as a consultant to advise a host of individuals and organizations, including the Office of the Secretary of the Navy, the Joint Staff, Bell Laboratories, and Raytheon Corporation on issues ranging from strategic roadmaps to the integration of roadmap technologies.

RSVP to AAFSW at office@aafsw.org no later than Friday, January 13 and send us your driver’s license number or passport number and date of birth for us to submit to the Office of Security at the State Department. In addition, please send a check made out to AAFSW — $10.00 for non-members and $5.00 for members — to 4001 North Ninth Street, Suite 214, Arlington VA, 22203.

Please come to the 21st Street NW entrance of the Department of State, close to the corner of “D” Street. As you enter, rather than reporting to the main desk, please go to the table on your left, where one of our members will check you in.

Sheila Switzer
AAFSW Program Chair