Occupation policy deprives Armenia of economic growth

He made the remarks within the annual meeting of New Champions held by the World Economic Forum in Tianjin, China.

The minister noted that this occupation policy deprives Armenia of economic growth and trade opportunities in the region.

“Thus, we still cannot take full advantage of the existing potential of our region for the transition to even more extensive and comprehensive economic cooperation,” Mammadyarov said.

Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan by laying territorial claims on the country. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. To this day, Armenia has not implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the NagornoKarabakh and surrounding regions.

The occupation of Azerbaijani lands and Armenia’s problems in relations with other neighbors greatly affect the social and economic situation in Armenia. Because of these problems, the country has long turned into the black sheep of the region and misses the opportunity of participation in different regional projects.