BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 2. No country can
tackle the landmine problem alone, Chairman of the Board of the
Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), Vugar
Suleymanov, said at 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.
"International cooperation, technical expertise exchange, donor
support, innovation, and strong national ownership are all
necessary if we are to move from contaminated sites to recovery,
from risk to resilience," the official explained.
He noted that Azerbaijan has demonstrated strong national will
and responsibility in addressing the mine problem.
"As of November 2020, approximately $590 million has been
allocated for humanitarian demining activities in the country. Only
about 4% of this amount has been provided through international
support, while the rest has been covered by the Government of
Azerbaijan.
This demonstrates the clear importance that our state attaches
to ensuring safe return, reconstruction, and recovery," the
chairman added.
Suleymanov emphasized that the scale of contamination of
territories with mines and explosive ordnance is still quite
large.
"Therefore, stronger international support is needed to
intensify the clearance process, reduce risks to the civilian
population, and ensure the timely implementation of urban
rehabilitation and development projects in the liberated areas.
In this regard, we believe that international cooperation in the
field of mine clearance cannot be viewed solely as support for
clearance operations. This cooperation should be seen as an
investment in human security, safe return, sustainable development,
and long-term peace," he added.
