Azernews.Az

By Sabina Mammadli

Japan and the International Eurasia Press Fund (IEPF) acting as the beneficiary organization have signed a grant agreement to allocate $88,224 in financial aid to purchase equipment for demining Azerbaijani lands liberated from the Armenian occupation.

According to Junichi Wada, Japan's ambassador to Azerbaijan, the main goal of this agreement is to speed up the process of clearing mines and unexploded ordnance in liberated areas by providing 11 mine detectors, 11 sets of protective clothing, and one pickup truck manufactured by Japan’s Mitsubishi company.

Japan seeks to support Azerbaijan in demining its lands liberated from Armenian occupation, he said.

During the same event, President of the International Eurasia Press Fund Umud Mirzayev stressed that Azerbaijan greatly appreciates Japan's support in the humanitarian sphere.

Mirzoyev noted that today one of Azerbaijan’s biggest problems is the process of demining the liberated lands.

"Japan and Azerbaijan are closely cooperating in this sphere," he added.

It should be noted that the IEPF has been supporting activities in the field of clearing mines and unexploded ordnances on Azerbaijani territory for more than 20 years. The project under which the agreement was signed on March 9 is the third project to help the fund under the Japanese embassy's grant program after projects implemented in 2001 and 2004.

Within the framework of this program, including the above agreement, a total of 278 grant agreements were signed. The total amount of grants exceeds $23.4 million. The economic assistance program aims to implement relatively small projects to improve the social welfare of the population.

Currently, the priority task of this program is to promote the development of healthcare, education, and agriculture. In connection with the mentioned financial assistance, it’s possible to apply to local municipal and executive authorities, non-governmental organizations, educational, health and other non-profit organizations.

It should be also noted that 2022 will be the “year of friendship between Azerbaijan and Japan”.

Additionally, earlier this year, Azerbaijan’s Energy Ministry and Japan’s TEPSCO company signed an agreement on the establishment of the “green energy” zone in the newly-liberated lands.

The agreement envisages the effective use of renewable energy potential such as wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and bioenergy on the liberated territories. It considers the establishment of a “green energy” zone based on modern energy management approaches to supply the region with energy.

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