BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 2. Demining is an
integral part of reconstruction work, Chairman of the State
Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture of Azerbaijan, Anar
Guliyev, said during the panel discussion titled "Mine Action as
Foundation for Urban Recovery" at the 4th International Mine Action
Conference on "Humanitarian Demining for Urban Recovery: Setting
Standards of Excellence for Safe Settlements," Trend's correspondent
reports from the event.
Guliyev noted that as Azerbaijan celebrates 2026 as the Year of
Urban Planning and Architecture, there is a significant opportunity
to approach demining activities with a new understanding, not as a
separate process from development, but as an integral part of
planning and building safe, resilient, and sustainable communities
of the future.
"Since the end of the Second Karabakh War in 2020, 437
Azerbaijani civilians have been killed or injured by landmines.
However, Azerbaijan is making significant progress in meeting this
challenge.
The activities of the State Committee for Urban Planning and
Architecture are particularly important at this juncture. Our role
is not limited to the planning of individual cities and
settlements.
This role involves defining a specific framework that guides the
transformation and long-term development of entire territories. In
this context, land security and accessibility are key planning
conditions," he pointed out.
The chairman emphasized that spatial planning determines where
settlements should develop, how they should be interconnected, how
infrastructure should connect them, and where public facilities and
economic zones will be located.
"This approach is further strengthened in cooperation with the
United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). Land
accessibility affects the structure of settlements, determines
development priorities, and guides the sequence of land use," he
added.
