On November 26, Chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs Rovshan Rzayev met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to the Republic of Azerbaijan Kim Tong Op.

The views were exchanged on Armenia`s policy of occupation, elimination of its severe consequences, current situation regarding the restoration of Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity, destruction of settlements built for IDPs by artillery attacks, return of refugees and IDPs to the liberated territories at the meeting.

It was noted that more than 1 million of our compatriots, who were forced to leave their native lands as a result of the policy of ethnic cleansing and occupation pursued by Armenia in 1988-93, temporarily settled in different regions of the country. The President Ilham Aliyev always pays attention and care to IDPs. The priorities set by the President to address the social problems of our compatriots from this category are being consistently implemented. The First Vice President Mrs. Mehriban Aliyeva also treats IDPs with particular care, and large projects are being implemented under her guidance.

The Ambassador was informed about the counter-offensive operation carried out by the Azerbaijani Army from September 27 to November 10 to prevent Armenian military provocation at the meeting. It was noted that Azerbaijan restored its territorial integrity as a result of this operation. It was stated that implementation of the measures set out in the statement signed by the Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia to end the armed conflict in Karabakh allows the return of Azerbaijani IDPs to the lands historically belonging to our people. Work is being carried out under the orders of the country President, after which the IDPs will be returned to their native lands.

Ambassador Kim Tong Op said that Korea also has a history of division, with about 10 million refugees, and therefore understands the difficulties of refugees and IDPs very well. The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Republic of Azerbaijan has been implementing measures to support those displaced from their native lands as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict every year since 2014. In 2019, they visited “Gobu Park” residential complex built for IDPs in Garadagh district and organized support activities such as voluntary medical care for residents, essay contest among students, provision of school with technical equipment and visits to internally displaced families. This year, due to the pandemic, they had to be satisfied with the provision of aid materials.  

Later, a presentation of aid materials to be delivered to refugees and IDPs within the framework of “2020 Refugee and IDP Support Event” was held.

They thanked the ambassador for the measures taken to support IDPs and it was noted that this assistance will be distributed to internally displaced families living in the regions. 

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Republic of Azerbaijan plans to further expand the support measures for IDPs in the following years.