(MENAFN- AzerNews)
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Elnur Enveroglu Read more
Azerbaijan, which has been an active member of the Economic
Cooperation Organization (ECO) since 1992, at last, held its 27th
meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (ECO) in Shusha, the
land of Azerbaijan, which was freed from Occupation after 31 years.
The importance of holding the event in Shusha, the cultural capital
of Azerbaijan, was of particular importance. First of all, it
should be noted that Azerbaijan, as a state that owns its sovereign
territories, is realizing the Great Return to the lands of Garabagh
and historical Zangazur, which were freed from occupation. This can
be considered one of the most successful steps taken by Azerbaijan
regarding economic revival. On the other hand, Shusha, which is
considered the heart of Garabagh, has the prospect of becoming one
of the great economic centers in the near future. As the President
of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev stated in his appeal to the opening of
the 27th Meeting of the ECO, Shusha will be declared the tourism
capital of Azerbaijan in 2026.
Indeed, this is one of the bright examples of the rapid
reconstruction and restoration works in Garabagh.
Although only three years have passed, after a heavy battle
lasting 44 days, Azerbaijan was able to achieve great success. The
liberation and restoration of 20% of the occupied territories also
played the role of an extremely stimulating factor in the country's
economic progress. In today's ministerial meeting in Shusha, this
issue was specifically addressed. In general, the revival of
Garabagh and its return to its past in a more modern form is also
the start of a new life for more than one million internally
displaced persons. Even during the former Soviet period, Garabagh
was at the forefront of viticulture, winemaking, animal husbandry,
and other agricultural fields.
Today, when looking at the modern world, the economic potential
of Garabagh is much greater than in previous times. Because
according to the requirements of today's era, Azerbaijan is also
taking important steps to strengthen interstate relations with the
creation of new communication and road infrastructure. At the same
time, the provision of new residents of Garabagh with houses in
accordance with modern requirements and ensuring their living are
among the main demands of today. It is no coincidence that, as the
head of state also noted, today the plan to return to Garabagh is
considered one of the most priority issues for Azerbaijan.
“The program of the Great Return to the de-occupied territories
is among our national priorities. As part of successfully
implementing the program, the displaced persons' return has been
ensured to the cities of Lachin and Fuzuli and the villages of
Aghali, Zabukh, and Talish. Nearly 100 hundred thousand displaced
persons are envisaged to be returned to their homes in the coming
three years. Along with the revival of Karabakh and East Zangezur
economic regions and ensuring sustainable resettling of the
population, implementing the projects also enables conditions for
turning these areas into a developed region.”
In addition, one of the other main priorities for Azerbaijan is
the restoration of peace and security in the region. About three
weeks ago, in response to the violation of the November 10, 2020
declaration by the separatist elements in Azerbaijan's Garabagh
Economic Region, Azerbaijan succeeded in clearing the terrorist
groups in Garabagh as a result of anti-terrorist measures. Until
that period, landmine terrorism, armed attacks, and other such
unpleasant situations happened many times in Garabagh which caused
death and injuries of civilians as well as servicemen of the
Azerbaijani Army.
This was one of the factors seriously hindering the construction
works in Garabagh. Also, the elements of separatism that hindered
the reintegration process in Garabagh were eliminated and a
dangerous situation was prevented.
At the same time, Azerbaijan is always inclined to peaceful and
progressive steps, and in this regard, it always takes the first
step in developing relations with neighboring Armenia in the format
of 3+3 cooperation.
President Ilham Aliyev emphasized this very issue in his appeal:
"Azerbaijan has always been a proponent of peace and the author of
peace initiatives in the region. Stemming from the principle that
regional matters must be resolved with the involvement of the
countries of our immediate region, Azerbaijan has proposed the
"3+3" cooperation format. A historic environment has emerged today
for normalizing Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, signing the peace
treaty, and transforming the South Caucasus into a region of peace
and cooperation.”
Thus, at the 27th Meeting of the ECO held in Shusha, the topic
themed Azerbaijan's OIC chairmanship as "Green transition and
interaction" was one of the significant parts of the event. It is
no coincidence that Green energy and decarbonization, which are the
main priorities of the UN SDG, are among the main agenda of
Azerbaijan's sustainable development program related to Garabagh.
In addition, the "smart city" and "smart village" projects built in
the Garabagh Economic Region and East Zangazur, declared energy
zones, can be specially highlighted in this regard.
Further, as the head of state noted, Azerbaijan is also the most
reliable transit country for the eight member states of the ECO.
The passage of this road, which is considered the main segment of
the Middle Corridor project and stretches from East to West,
through the territory of Azerbaijan, made it necessary to develop
the field of transportation and logistics.
With regard to the increased demand for cargo shipping along the
East-West route, Azerbaijan is looking forward to increasing the
throughput capacity of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway from the
current 1 million to 5 million tons. In this regard, the recently
reached agreement between Azerbaijan and Iran on the construction
of a highway and railway to connect Nakhchivan is an example of the
work done in the mentioned field. At the same time, Azerbaijan is
taking important steps in the field of expanding the capacity of
the North-South transport corridor.
All the work done in this way shows once again that Azerbaijan
successfully fulfills its obligations among the nine member states
of ECO. In addition, Azerbaijan highly appreciates the support
given in ensuring peace and stability in the region, as peace and
security in the region is also a successful development of joint
economic cooperation.
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