Azernews.Az

By Vugar Khalilov

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and the Director of the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) Regional Office for Europe Bruno Pozzi have discussed future cooperation and rehabilitation of Karabakh, the ministry has reported.

Representatives of relevant government agencies involved in the working group, as well as members of the UN Environment Programme's expert group visiting Azerbaijan, attended the meeting, the report added.

“At the meeting, the issues related to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the liberated areas, the demining process, as well as opportunities to deepen bilateral relations in the field of environment and the Sustainable Development Goals were also discussed,” the ministry said in a statement.

Bayramov stressed that Azerbaijan appreciates cooperation with the UN and its specialized agencies and welcomes the UN Environment Programme's assistance for the restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems in Azerbaijan’s liberated lands.

Bayramov briefed the guests about the current regional situation, the large-scale restoration and reconstruction work carried out by Azerbaijan on its liberated territories. The minister emphasized the government's environmental protection activities in the country, as well as the challenges ahead and solutions to current environmental issues.

He recalled that as a result of Armenia's military aggression against Azerbaijan and 30 years of occupation of its territories, over one million Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced persons.

Bayramov also briefed the experts on a comparative assessment of the condition of forest resources, flora and fauna, specially protected natural areas, water resources, mineral deposits, lands in liberated areas with the pre-occupation period, and agricultural work.

He spoke about degraded lands, military erosion, the "Smart Village" project, the "Green Energy Zone Concept", monitoring liberated territories using satellite images, and the restoration work that will be done.

The minister said that Azerbaijan values UNEP's participation in these activities.

Bayramov emphasized Azerbaijan's unique approach to environmental issues, stating that the liberated territories have been designated as a green energy zone and that all initiatives are carried out with environmental considerations in mind.

Pozzi expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome and highlighted Azerbaijan's programs in collaboration with the UN. He emphasized that the assessment mission's visit to the liberated lands of Azerbaijan clearly revealed Armenia's environmental damage.

"The purpose of the expert group's visit was to conduct an assessment mission to support the process of ecological restoration of the liberated territories, study the Government of Azerbaijan's plans to restore ecosystems in the liberated areas, identify UNEP support areas, and collect information from direct sources related to environmental rehabilitation needs," Pozzi explained.

He also thanked for the fruitful collaboration and constructive dialogue in this regard.

During the meeting, the parties discussed future cooperation prospects and exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest. The parties discussed Azerbaijan's collaboration with the United Nations, as well as other practical issues on the UNEP-Azerbaijan agenda.

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