AZERBAIJAN SPENT US$12 BLN FOR RECONSTRUCTION WORKS IN LIBERATED REGIONS

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 (Bernama) -- The Azerbaijan’s government has spent AZN19 billion (US$12 billion) for reconstruction works in liberated regions in the country. 

Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Malaysia, Irfan Davudov, said these include rebuilding cities and villages, constructing roads, bridges, tunnels, and airports, and restoring monuments devastated by nearly 30 years of Armenian occupation.

Speaking at the 4th anniversary of Azerbaijan’s victory in the Second Karabakh War during a recent event, the ambassador highlighted that the Azerbaijani government is harnessing hydro, solar, and wind power potential to ensure sustainable energy supplies in these regions, which President Ilham Aliyev has designated as the “Green Energy Zone”.

The agriculture sector, a major contributor to Azerbaijan’s oil and gas-based economy, is also being revitalised, along with the industry and tourism sectors.

The government continues its efforts to clear the estimated 1.5 million mines left by Armenia during the occupation.

“This remarkable victory of Azerbaijan has brought an end to nearly 30 years of foreign intervention and occupation. It has ensured our country’s territorial integrity and created the conditions necessary for the return of our displaced citizens to their ancestral homeland,” he said, adding that thousands of internally displaced people (IDP) have returned home since.

Davudov noted that Armenia continued to occupy Azerbaijan’s territories for 27 years, despite repeated United Nations Security Council resolutions calling for its unconditional withdrawal. This occupation was brought to an end by the Second Karabakh War in September 2020 and the subsequent “anti-terror operation” in 2023.

The 44-day war ended with a Trilateral Agreement signed between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia.

-- BERNAMA