President: Over 300,000 hectares cleared of mines for safe Great Return

President Ilham Aliyev, in a message to participants of the 6th Azerbaijan International Restoration, Reconstruction and Development of Garabagh Exhibition, “Rebuild Garabagh,” said the Victory achieved in the 44-day Patriotic War laid the foundation for a new phase of construction and development in Garabagh and East Zangezur.

The message said towns and villages are being rebuilt under the First State Program on the Great Return, with the safe return of compatriots to their native lands being ensured. Azerbaijan is carrying out this work using its own financial resources. To date, 25.5 billion manats have been allocated from the state budget for restoration and reconstruction.

To ensure the safe implementation of the Great Return, more than 300,000 hectares of land have been cleared of mines and unexploded ordnance, and over 40,000 people have returned to 47 residential settlements. The message said nearly 100,000 people currently live, study and work in the liberated territories.