Azerbaijan invited Korean companies to invest in Karabakh: Aliyev

Azerbaijan has invited Korean companies to implement projects in lands liberated from Armenia during the Second Karabakh War, President Ilham Aliyev said on Thursday.

“I have repeatedly said that companies from friendly countries will participate in these projects. The volume of work to be done is extreme. We need to rebuild 10,000 square kilometers,” Aliyev said during a meeting with a delegation led by Korean parliament speaker Byeong-seug in Baku.

“Korean companies are active in various fields in Azerbaijan, implementing different projects. I’m sure that the volume of economic and trade relations will increase in the future. We have invited Korean companies to implement projects in the liberated lands,” he added.

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, and seven adjacent regions.

When new clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from the nearly three-decade occupation.