The U.S.-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce held a networking dinner with U.S. Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) last week as part of its Congressional Talks series.

The briefing, titled "United States-Azerbaijan Strategic Partnership", was opened by USACC Executive Director Susan Sadigova, who presented the keynote speaker and spoke about the importance of strengthening ties between the two countries.

Poe thanked the USACC and said it was in the interest of both sides to work together to develop the infrastructure for the production of natural gas and to sell more energy on the European market. He also spoke about potential bilateral cooperation in the IT and aviation sectors.

Additionally, Poe spoke about the development of the Shah Deniz oil field, the signing of the Final Investment Decision with European partners in December, and the significance of the proposed Trans-Caspian pipeline.

Poe said the Southern Gas Corridor would create 30,000 jobs, 20,000 of which would be local contracts from Azerbaijan.