BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 2. Azerbaijan hopes that the volume of international aid in the field of mine clearance will increase, Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), Vugar Suleymanov, told reporters on the sidelines of the 4th International Mine Action Conference on "Humanitarian Demining for Urban Recovery: Setting Standards of Excellence for Safe Settlements", Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
"Only about 4% of the funds spent on demining activities in Azerbaijan have been implemented through foreign aid. Therefore, I very much hope that the volume of international aid will increase," the official explained.
He noted that demining activities are part of the Great Return Program, while the restoration and reconstruction work carried out in Azerbaijan is directly related to demining activities.
Our former internally displaced persons have already returned to their homeland. Of course, demining activities are at the heart of these efforts, because before the implementation of each project, the area must be freed from danger.
To date, more than 298,000 hectares of land have been cleared of mines since 2020, and as a result of these clearance operations, more than 260,000 mines and unexploded ordnance have been discovered and neutralized," the chairman said.
He emphasized that only about 4% of the funds spent on demining activities in Azerbaijan were implemented at the expense of foreign aid.
"This is a very small number because in other countries, in other cases, these figures are much higher. For us, this is a matter of humanitarian solidarity. That's why I really hope that the volume of international assistance will increase," he said.
The chairman added that new technologies are being created, but the vast majority of these technologies belong to the research stage of mine action.
"That is, studying areas, conducting non-technical reconnaissance, etc. As for the pure clearance activity, unfortunately, there is still no such technology in the world that can replace humans and speed up this work. All over the world, the main work is done manually. Demining machines are used as auxiliary tools," he noted.
On September 2, the 4th International Mine Action Conference on "Humanitarian Demining for Urban Recovery: Setting Standards of Excellence for Safe Settlements" was launched in Baku, jointly organized by ANAMA and the UN Office in Azerbaijan.
The event will feature panel discussions on "Mine Action as Foundation for Urban Recovery", "International Cooperation and Donor Mechanisms to Support Safe Recovery through Mine Action in Azerbaijan", and "Humanitarian Demining for Resilient Communities".
The conference will conclude on September 3.
