Azerbaijan’s “Great Return” to liberated lands continues President Aliyev shares details

The revival of the liberated lands by the government of Azerbaijan is going on in full swing. The once devastated and emptied lands have been healing from the traces of Armenian occupation to welcome its expelled residents back. Azerbaijani authorities have named it "Great Return", meaning a return to ancestral lands after 30 years of forcible separation.

President Ilham Aliyev has recently shared details of plans to relocate the former internally displaces people to the territories liberated from Armenian occupation in 2020.

President Ilham Aliyev addressing at a government meeting dedicated to the socio-economic results of thr first half of 2023, July 11, 2023

During his speech in a government meeting on July 11, Aliyev said a relevant program is being carried consistently to enable the return of residents to five settlements, one city and four villages.

“In total, 100 settlements are to be reconstructed in the first phase of the Great Return program. I personally participated in the groundbreaking ceremonies of 30 residential settlements, eight cities and 22 settlements and villages. Master plans have been prepared and approved, and very extensive construction work is underway in many places,” President Aliyev stated.

“By the end of this year, on the basis of the overall investment program, we will ensure the spending of up to 12 billion manats [$7.06 billion] in Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur. I should also note that all this work is being carried out at the expense of Azerbaijan. Except for two schools, all remaining infrastructure and construction works are financed from Azerbaijan’s state budget and are carried out by Azerbaijani state companies,” the head of state noted.

One of the newly-built houses in the village of Talish

In March of this year, twenty families comprising 90 people were resettled to the village of Talish as part of the state-run “Great Return” program. In May and June, a total of 70 families, including 266 persons, returned to the city of Lachin. By the end of 2023, the Sus and Zabukh villages of Lachin will also welcome its residents back.

The city of Lachin

Since July 2022, nearly 90 families were resettled in the Agali village of the liberated Zangilan district. The village of Agali has been redesigned as the first smart village in the liberated territories, incorporating all vital infrastructure facilities, including a hospital, a school, and a kindergarten, as well as advanced technologies and eco-friendly systems.

The village is comprised of 150 residential buildings, ranging from two to three stories, as well as a kindergarten, school, medical center, and hydroelectric power plant, among other facilities.

The development of Agali is based on five key components: housing, production, social services, smart agriculture, and alternative energy. The smart agriculture concept in Agali is set to introduce new innovations in Azerbaijan’s agricultural sector.

Entrance to the Agali village

In addition, several offices have been established in Agali, including Azerpost, ASAN Service multi-purpose social services center, DOST social support center, and the Center for Development of Small and Medium Enterprises. Furthermore, an agricultural park is currently under construction in the village. The residents of Agali will be able to access over 100 online services related to social security and employment.

The Azerbaijani government launched major infrastructure projects in Karabakh and East Zangazur shortly after the regions were liberated from Armenian occupation during a 44-day war in 2020.

The allocations in the 2023 state budget destined for the ongoing and new reconstruction projects in the liberated Karabakh and East Zangazur regions stands at AZN 5.26 billion, or $3.1 billion

In 2022, AZN 4.315 billion, or $2.5 billion, was invested in the revival of the liberated lands. In 2021, the total financial allocations for this purpose stood at AZN 2.178 billion ($1.28 billion).

The all-new airport in the Zangilan district

Over the decades, Armenia and Azerbaijan had been locked in an armed conflict over the latter’s Karabakh (Garabagh) region. Following the Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991, Armenia launched a military campaign against Azerbaijan. The war ended in a ceasefire in 1994 and saw Armenia forcibly occupying 20 per cent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territories. Over 30,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, 3,890 went missing, and one million were expelled from these lands in a brutal ethnic cleansing campaign carried out by Armenia.

On September 27, 2020, the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict took a violent turn when Armenia’s forces deployed in occupied Azerbaijani lands shelled military positions and civilian settlements of Azerbaijan. During the 44 days of the war, the Azerbaijani forces liberated over 300 settlements, including the cities of Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Zangilan, Gubadli, and Shusha, from a nearly 30-year-long illegal Armenian occupation. The war ended with the signing of a tripartite statement by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia on November 10, 2020. Under the agreement, Armenia also returned the occupied Aghdam, Kalbajar, and Lachin districts to Azerbaijan.