Presidential aide: Shusha enters renaissance era

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev has stated that Azerbaijan's cultural capital Shusha enters an era of renaissance.

He shared a video from the liberated Shusha on his official Twitter page on March 2.

"Shusha - cultural capital of Azerbaijan enters era of renaissance, revival and reconstruction after 30 years long dark days under Armenian occupation and vandalism," he wrote.

Shusha was occupied by Armenian forces on May 8, 1992, and was the last of Azerbaijan’s cities to be liberated from the Armenian occupation in the war that lasted from September 27 to November 10, 2020.

It is among the first liberated cities that are being reconstructed.  On May 7, Shusha city was declared the country’s cultural capital according to the relevant decree signed by President Ilham Aliyev.

Azerbaijan also started developing tourism in its liberated territories and the event presented the tourism potential of the Karabakh region, particularly Shusha city at an international exhibition Arabian Travel Market 2021 in Dubai, the UAE.

Currently, the work is underway to restore Azerbaijan's liberated lands. Azerbaijan will rebuild its recently liberated areas in four stages. The initial stage includes the solution of the issues of governance and security, infrastructure, while the subsequent stages include the solution of the issues of social services activities, reconstruction, and development of the economy.

President Ilham Aliyev in one of his interviews last year stated that a new housing complex for 25 houses will be built within a year, a maximum of one and a half years, and it will be possible already to return people to Shusha. 

In 2021, Azerbaijan allocated $1.5 billion for the reconstruction of liberated territories, followed by AZN 2.2 billion ($1.2 billion) in 2022. These funds will be used primarily to restore infrastructure (electricity, gas, water, communications, roads, education, health, and so on) as well as cultural and historical monuments.