Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

A high-ranking official says Azerbaijan which used to be in serious need of humanitarian assistance has turned into a donor country itself.

Azerbaijan's Deputy Prime Minister Ali Hasanov who is also the Chairman of the Republican Commission on International Humanitarian Assistance said this during a meeting with the European Director for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Anitta Underlin.

Hasanov went on adding that, during the last 20 years, some 80 humanitarian organizations had been active in Azerbaijan.

He noted however that today the number has decreased to 30, adding that the decrease is normal, as the growing economic opportunities have allow Azerbaijan to overcome its economic problems.

For his part, Underlin said that she visited Azerbaijan for the first time six years ago. She praised the country for the rapid development in recent years.

"Developed countries have an advanced society. We have seen such a society in our visit to Azerbaijan," Underlin said.

Hasanov highly appreciated the cooperation between the Federation and Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society in projects to address the problems of refugees and IDPs, implemented with the support of donors.

He stressed that alongside the attentions of the international humanitarian organizations, one of the components of Azerbaijan's state policy has been preparing the ground for their activities.

Hasanov also pointed out that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is still unresolved due to Armenia's destructive and aggressive policy and the number of refugees and IDPs now stands at 1.2 million today.

Hasanov added that the cooperation between the Federation and Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society will continue.

During the meeting the parties exchanged views on the issues of mutual interests.