Azerbaijan details large-scale resettlement drive in briefing for foreign envoys PHOTO

Foreign diplomats from 19 countries received a briefing in Baku on Azerbaijan’s Great Return programme, which aims to resettle former internally displaced persons in territories recaptured by Baku.

At a presentation in the capital, deputy chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons Fuad Huseynov outlined what he called the “protracted displacement and long-awaited return” of Azerbaijani citizens who, according to officials, lost their homes decades ago, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

Officials said conflict and what Baku describes as occupation and deportations linked to Armenia displaced more than one million people. Many of them, they added, lived for years in difficult conditions, including unfinished buildings, dormitories and temporary accommodation.

Diplomats heard that Azerbaijan now carries out large-scale reconstruction and infrastructure projects across the returned territories as the government seeks to enable resettlement and rebuild communities.

The briefing presented Azerbaijan as a model for post-conflict rehabilitation and reintegration and highlighted state-led efforts to restore services and infrastructure in the affected regions.

Officials also referred to the historical displacement of Azerbaijanis from what the country calls Western Azerbaijan and alleged crimes against Azerbaijani communities.

After the presentation, participants watched a documentary titled This Is My Home, which follows US-born Jeyhun Garabaghli as he visits his ancestral village in the Jabrayil district. Organisers also screened video materials on reconstruction work and distributed informational publications prepared by the committee.

By Aghakazim Guliyev