On Tuesday, June 28, 2011, Joe Czyzyk the 2011 Chair of the Board of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and the Chairman & CEO of Mercury Air Group hosted his Excellency Mayor Muhammad Younus Nawandish, the Mayor of Kabul, Afghanistan for breakfast at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Marina del Rey.

Czyzyk is pictured presenting Mayor Nawandish with Mercury’s Coin depicting the company’s founding by the legendary World War II AVG Flying Tigers.

Czyzyk was joined at the breakfast by the Honorable Eric Garcetti, President of the Los Angeles City Council, as well as a number of prominent Los Angeles business leaders.

During breakfast, the Mayor discussed his impressive achievements during his first year in office, including having repaired more than 1,000 square yards of roads and providing 15,000 homes to the poor or homeless in Kabul. A recent Christian Science Monitor article identified him as the “Can Do Mayor of Kabul.”

“It was a honor to meet Mayor Nawandish and have an opportunity to learn first hand about the transformative work he is doing in Kabul. I’ve traveled extensively in the Mayor's part of the world and visited Afghanistan in the 1970s. I know that being a reformer and corruption fighter is very dangerous over there. He’s a courageous man and has my respect. I also enjoyed the opportunity to talk with him about our joint venture partner, Silk Road Solutions, which is based in Kabul and is providing comprehensive training for Afghans,” said Czyzyk.