First returnees to Azerbaijan's smart village harbinger of imminent resettlement of liberated Karabakh

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

The Great Return process started with the return of natives of Zangilan’s Aghali village to their homes, Azerbaijan’s territories that were liberated from the Armenian occupation back in 2020.

A total of 10 families, made up of 58 people, have already been resettled to Aghali village. In the upcoming five days, 41 families (201 people) will also be resettled in Aghali village.

A native of Aghali village, Isa Mahmudov, shared his impressions of returning to his village with Trend’s Karabakh bureau.

“We are back to our native lands after so many years. The victory in the second Karabakh war gave us a sense of pride, and we couldn’t be happier with the return to our native Aghali,” he said.

President’s Special Representative to Zangilan region Vahid Hajiyev stated that the return of Aghali’s inhabitants to their native village is a crucial event in Azerbaijan’s history.

Moreover, Turkish Ambassador Cahit Bagci wrote on his official Twitter page that the separation is over and the Great Return has started.

“The separation is over. The Great Return has started. The return of our brothers to their native Aghali village in liberated Karabakh's Zangilan district, where Turkish companies have carried out reconstruction activities, started today. Karabakh is Azerbaijan!” he wrote.

In total, there are more than 43,000 natives of Zangilan region, who were forced to leave their homes and flee to save their lives during the first Karabakh war. Over 90 percent of them have already expressed a desire to return to their native lands.

The first pilot project of the smart city and smart village in Azerbaijan is implemented mainly on five components - the housing sector, production sector, social services, smart agriculture, and alternative energy. Initially, 200 individual houses are constructed with the use of innovative building materials. The engineering communications and heating systems in the houses are also created on the basis of smart technologies.

Moreover, modern schools, kindergartens, clinics, and electronic control centers will be built in these villages, and tourism infrastructure will be formed. All residential houses, social facilities, administrative and catering buildings, and processing and production of agricultural products will be provided with alternative energy sources.