The destruction caused by Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan has caused a large amount of material damage to our country. During the occupation, settlements, infrastructure, economic facilities, agricultural areas and other property were destroyed, and the economic and financial potential of the region was seriously damaged.
So, what is the approximate total amount of material damage caused to Azerbaijan in the occupied territories? How was the value of economic and financial losses calculated?
Associate professor, economist-scientist Mahir Zeynalov, who works at the Institute of Economics of the Ministry of Science and Education, gave a statement to Modern.az regarding the topic.
He stated that a special methodology was developed to calculate the damage caused as a result of Armenia's military aggression against Azerbaijan and the occupation of our territories.
“Although several different methodologies for damage assessment have been applied in the world to date, none of them are sufficient to calculate the damage caused during a long-term, multi-year occupation. For this reason, a new methodological approach has been applied in Azerbaijan to solve this problem”.
The economist noted that in 2023, by the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers, a state commission was established to assess the damage caused to Azerbaijan by Armenia as a result of the occupation.
The commission, headed by Samir Sharifov, who was the Minister of Finance at that time, included leading figures from various ministries, state committees and agencies. In addition to the working group operating under the commission, a group of employees, including Professor Nazim Muzaffarli, General Director of the Institute of Economics of the Ministry of Science and Education, participated in the preparation of the report.
According to Mahir Zeynalov, within the framework of the developed methodology, appropriate methods and tools have been developed for calculating and evaluating moral damage related to human losses, damage to movable and immovable property, economic losses, contamination of territories with mines, damage to the environment and other components.
“According to the assessment carried out on the basis of the new methodology, the total amount of damage caused to Azerbaijan by Armenia as a result of the occupation is approximately 250 billion manats, i.e. 150 billion US dollars,” the researcher said.
Nicat Rustam
