Azerbaijani officials visit Southeast Asia to enhance mine action cooperation

A delegation headed by the Azerbaijani President's Representative for Special Assignments Elchin Amirbayov is on a working visit to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia from 19-30 August.

The delegation includes Chairman of the Board of the Mine Action Agency (ANAMA) Vugar Suleymanov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of ANAMA Samir Poladov, as well as senior officials of the agency's structural subdivisions, ANAMA told Caliber.Az.

The mentioned countries are among the states that have faced the mine threat and have many years of experience in combating it.

The purpose of the Azerbaijani delegation's visit is to study international experience in the field of demining and expand cooperation with relevant structures in this direction.

The Karabakh and East Zangazur regions of Azerbaijan have been heavily mined by Armenian armed forces since the 1990s. Since then, over 3,400 people in Azerbaijan have suffered from landmine explosions, including 358 children and 38 women in the Karabakh region.

On September 27, 2020, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan reignited when Armenian forces attacked Azerbaijani positions, leading to a 44-day war in which Azerbaijani forces liberated over 300 settlements, including major cities, and concluded with a November 10, 2020, tripartite agreement that saw Armenia return the Aghdam, Kalbajar, and Lachin districts to Azerbaijan.

Since the cessation of hostilities, the Azerbaijani government has been conducting demining operations, led by the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), in the liberated territories to facilitate the return of internally displaced people to their homes.

Despite extensive efforts, demining operations have faced many challenges due to Armenia’s refusal to hand over accurate maps displaying the locations of landmines. Furthermore, from 2020 to 2023, Armenia laid new minefields along 500 kilometres in the territory of Azerbaijan.