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EU, UNDP to provide Azerbaijan with technical aid to demine liberated territories [PHOTO]

7 June 2022 10:37 (UTC+04:00)
EU, UNDP to provide Azerbaijan with technical aid to demine liberated territories [PHOTO]

The EU and UNDP will provide Azerbaijan with technical aid to demine its liberated lands, Azernews reports per Azerbaijani National Mine Action (ANAMA) Deputy Chairman Samir Poladov.

Poladov made the remarks at the June 6 presentation of a joint EU-UNDP project aimed at facilitating the de-mining process in the liberated lands, the report adds.

He said that 39 people have been killed and 184 were injured as a result of mine explosions in the liberated regions since November 2020, when the trilateral statement was signed by Azerbaijani, Armenian, and Russian leaders to end the second Karabakh war. He further added that the total number of mine incidents stood at 223.

"The de-mining process was initially focused on key infrastructure important for livelihoods. Since the launch of the process, 32,000 hectares of high priority lands have been cleared of mines, while 60,000 mines and ordnance have been detected," he added.

Addressing the event, UNDP Resident Representative Charu Bist stressed that acceleration of the de-mining process in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh will contribute to people’s general well-being.

"This project will become a powerful impetus for the development of integration, education, and agriculture," she noted.

Mines and unexploded ordnances, she claims, pose a major threat to livelihood and hinder people from accessing their agricultural lands.

"The project will provide direct immediate short-term support to 1,500 individuals and their families who depend on agriculture," Bist added.

The Azerbaijan Mine Action Agency (ANAMA) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) jointly organized the international conference on the theme "Humanitarian mine action and sustainable development goals (SDGs)," in Baku from March 31 to April 1, 2022, to address mine problems in Azerbaijan’s liberated lands.

The conference aimed at bringing together key players from the international community, mine action operators, government agencies, and civil society to discuss the importance of humanitarian mine action in combating the threat of mines to people's lives and livelihoods.

According to the EU ambassador to Azerbaijan Peter Michalko, European Union (EU) allocated €2.5 million for demining Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region liberated from Armenia’s 30-year occupation.

Moreover, countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Turkey, and Japan also supported Azerbaijan’s demining activities in the liberated regions.

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