Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan will spend $1.5 billion in 2021 to restore its territories recently liberated from the Armenian occupation, Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov has said.

Addressing an online event of the Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation- CAREC at 20: Reimagining Regional Cooperation Through Digital Transformation, Jabbarov emphasized that the restoration will be carried out both through state spending and by attracting investments.

“We will create attractive conditions for the investors. This year we plan to spend $1.5 billion for the restoration of the region.”

Furthermore, the minister noted that it is planned to develop agriculture, tourism, and the mining industry in the region.

Jabbarov underlined that Azerbaijan, being an important transport hub in the region, is constantly improving cross-border and transit procedures, logistics, as well as digitalizing the logistics system and trade processes.

Speaking about the reconstruction of the Nakhchivan transport corridor and restoration of the railway from Azerbaijan through Armenia and Nakhchivan to Turkey, the minister said it will have a positive impact on the region’s economy.

“Restoration of communication with Nakhchivan will benefit all regional countries, including Armenia,” he said.

The construction of Nakhchivan corridor is stipulated by the November 10 trilateral statement that calls for unblocking of transport communications in the region.

The Moscow-brokered trilateral statement brought an end to six weeks of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.

Currently, the work is underway to restore Azerbaijan’s liberated territories. Azerbaijan will carry out the restoration and reconstruction work on its recently-liberated territories in four stages. The initial stage includes the solution of the issues of governance and security, infrastructure, while the subsequent stages include the solution of the issues of social services activities, reconstruction, and development of the economy.

--

Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz