Deputy minister: Occupation of Azerbaijani lands hinders sustainable development in region

By Trend

Twenty percent of Azerbaijani territories have been occupied and this hampers sustainable development in the region, Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Economy Sevinj Hasanova said.

Hasanova made the remarks at the 16th International Baku Conference of Ombudsmen entitled "Role of ombudsmen in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Just Peace", Trend reports on June 18.

She reminded that Azerbaijan is one of 18 countries that reduced the poverty level twofold and obtained several prizes for that.

"Inequality reigns in the world and problems remain,” Hasanova said. “Today, there about 800 million people in the world, whose daily income is below $1.25. There are still more than 200 million unemployed people in the world.

"About 100 million young people cannot read. Formally, no more than 40 percent of people work in the world. There is a high level of unemployment among young people,” she added. “Over 600 million people in the world are short of drinking water. To solve these problems, Azerbaijan along with 191 countries adopted a new UN agenda."