Azerbaijan sets up Karabakh Revival Fund
By Vafa Ismayilova
President Ilham Aliyev has signed a decree to set up the Karabakh Revival Fund to help carry out restoration and development work in Azerbaijan's newly-liberated territories, Azertag has reported.
Under the decree, the Karabakh Revival Fund has been set up to ensure a modern and decent living conditions on the liberated territories, to carry out construction, restoration and landscaping work in all areas, as well as to support continuous improvement of safe living, efficient activities and prosperity.
The fund shall be financed through donations provided by individuals and legal entities, grants, as well as other sources not prohibited by law.
The fund, established as a public legal entity, shall provide financial support and attract investment to the activities towards the restoration and reconstruction of the liberated territories of Azerbaijan, transformation of this region into a sustainable economy and a prosperous region, while ensuring the development of public-private partnership in this area, as well as carrying out necessary awareness campaigns at home and abroad.
The fund's supervisory board is to exercise the general management and control over its activities. The management board, comprised of three members - chair and two vice-chairs, is charged with the management of the fund's activities.
It should be noted that Azerbaijan will allocate AZN 2.2 billion ($1.3bn) for reconstruction works in the liberated territories in 2021. In particular, these fund will be used to restore the infrastructure (electricity, gas, water, communications, roads, education, health, etc), as well as cultural and historical monuments.
The Armenian armed forces, which held under occupation Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region along with seven adjacent districts for about three decades, razed to the ground many Azerbaijani villages, settlements, cities, historical and religious monuments and exploited gold deposits in Kalbajar and Zangilan regions. Azerbaijan involved foreign experts in the assessment of the Armenian destructions.
As a result of Armenian vandalism, hundreds of cultural institutions, including 927 libraries with 4.6 million books, 808 palaces of culture, clubs and other cultural institutions, 85 music and art schools were destroyed on the occupied Azerbaijani territories.
Nearly 22 museums and museum branches, four art galleries, four theaters, two concert halls, eight parks of culture and recreation, were subjected to the Armenian vandalism.
Over 700 historical and cultural monuments registered by the state before the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were looted, including the 11 and 15-span Khudaferin bridges in Jabrayil, Ganjasar and Khudavend sanctuaries in Kalbajar, the mausoleum in Aghdam's Khachin Turbetli village, Azykh cave in Fuzuli as well as Shusha state historical and architectural reserve.
A Moscow-brokered ceasefire deal that Baku and Yerevan signed on November 10 brought an end to six weeks of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. 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 early 1990s.
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