Azerbaijan's ruined city of Aghdam, Hiroshima to develop cooperation PHOTO

Cooperation between the cities of Aghdam and Hiroshima has been discussed.

The delegation headed by the special representative of the President of Azerbaijan in the territories liberated from occupation (except for the Shusha region) Emin Huseynov visited the Japanese city of Hiroshima as part of the 10th general conference of the Mayors for Peace initiative, whose members are 8,123 cities out of 166 countries, Report informs.

A meeting was held between Special Representative Emin Huseynov and Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui prior to the conference. During the meeting, information was provided on the history and culture of the Aghdam District, acts of vandalism committed on our lands for 30 years, victory in the 44-day Patriotic War and ongoing restoration processes, specific issues were discussed on the development of bilateral cooperation between the cities of Aghdam and Hiroshima. 

Aghdam, located 362 kilometres west of the capital Baku, was one of the major cities of heavy, light, and food industries, as well as agriculture of Azerbaijan until it lost a larger part of its territory to the Armenian invasion.

In 1993, Armenian forces occupied a significant part of the district, including the city of Aghdam, and 89 villages, which comprised about 73 per cent of the district’s territory. About six thousand residents of the district have been killed and 126,000 forcibly displaced in the wake of Armenia’s attack. The occupied areas were razed to the ground, with no single building left except for the Juma Mosque in Aghdam. The district was home to 38 collective and state farms, 24 construction-installation and 12 industrial enterprises, 74 schools, 105 healthcare facilities, 271 culture houses, 67 departments, and 99 clubs. In addition, there were an airport, a music technical school, and a drama theatre.

Aghdam has been referred to as a “ghost town” and “Hiroshima of Caucasus” due to the scale of destruction caused by Armenians. International analysts labelled Aghdam as the planet’s “largest home depot” as Armenians plundered and ransacked the district’s properties to use as building supplies.