Nakhchivan and Garabagh to be developed based on unified concept - Aliyev

Nakhchivan, along with the liberated territories - East Zangazur and Garabagh - should be developed based on a unified concept, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with Azerbaijan Television.

Recalling that the master plans for cities in all the liberated territories had been approved, the head of state said that he instructed that a Master Plan for Nakhchivan city should also be developed and prepared, and that additional measures should be taken to ensure the city’s development and the creation of modern infrastructure.

"Every year, hundreds of millions of manats are allocated from the Azerbaijani state budget to the state budget of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. Without this, naturally, we would not be able to see today's developing and prosperous Nakhchivan," Ilham Aliyev said.

Considering that Garabagh and East Zangezur are being built virtually from scratch, and the distance between the Zangilan district and the Ordubad district is merely 42 km, he noted.

"This is factually a single geographical space, as it has historically been. Zangezur, Nakhchivan, and Garabagh constituted a single space, and the migration of people took place over centuries. Therefore, there are many relatives across this vast geography as well. Consequently, we envision this as a unified, exemplary region of development," Ilham Aliyev said.

Garabagh, East Zangezur and Nakhchivan have been declared green energy zones. They have already created two 250-megawatt battery energy storage systems, the head of state added.

"I issued instructions to install a battery energy storage system of at least 100 megawatts in Nakhchivan during the first stage as well. Because renewable energy - solar and hydroelectric power plants - is also generated here," Ilham Aliyev said.

The same governance system -  the Special Representation of the President - was applied in Nakhchivan as well, he said, adding that the more than 90,000 people already living there also see this.

"Thus, parallel to personnel reforms, these structural reforms are naturally an approach directed at the main objective: to ensure that this region, this ancient land, develops continuously, and that people live here in comfort, security, and prosperity," Ilham Aliyev said.