Azerbaijan's Karabakh will be famous soon for its "smart cities" and agricultural products, Turkish Ambassador to Baku said during his trip to the villages liberated from Armenian occupation, Trend News reported on Saturday.
"In the near future, Karabakh will also be famous for its smart cities and agricultural products. Mulberry trees grow in the region. The silk of the highest quality in the world will be produced here," Cahit Bağcı told reporters in the western Tartar district.
"Every corner of Karabakh is beautiful and extremely important. After my appointment as ambassador, I said that Karabakh is the heart of Azerbaijan," he added.
Earlier in January, Azerbaijan's President İlham Aliyev announced that settlements liberated from Armenian occupation will be re-established based on the concepts of “smart city” and “smart village.”
Relations between the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
When new clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.
During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from the nearly three-decade occupation.
On Nov. 10, 2020, the two countries signed a Russian-brokered agreement to end the fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution.
On Jan. 11, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia signed a pact to develop economic ties and infrastructure to benefit the entire region. It included the establishment of a trilateral working group on Karabakh.
The cease-fire is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces withdrew in line with the agreement.
Prior to this victory, about 20% of Azerbaijan's territory had been under illegal occupation for nearly 30 years.
