On the eve of the summit, President Ilham Aliyev visited the under-construction Victory Park in Khankendi, where a triumphal arch will be erected and wide green boulevards laid out. The area designated for the park had to be cleared of illegal, substandard buildings left behind by the occupying junta — structures erected during the occupation with no regard for urban planning standards. In Khankendi, the president also inaugurated a new congress center and business center, laid the foundation for a future bus and railway terminal complex, and examined the site where a grand Khankendi–Shusha cable car system will be built.
Together with Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Ilham Aliyev visited the Azerbaijani–Uzbek joint venture Businesstex JV, a textile factory. He and the President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, also participated in the inauguration of the first phase of the village of Khydyrly in the Aghdam district.
And that’s not all the news carrying the tag of the “Great Return.”
The Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia suffered an unprecedented level of urbicide. Nearly everything needs to be rebuilt from scratch — infrastructure, utilities, housing stock (as it was called in Soviet times), agriculture. Of course, the most immediate and perhaps the most difficult task remains demining. But just as important — and equally complex — is avoiding the many other “mines,” and formulating a clear strategy for return, revival, and building the future of Karabakh. The liberated territories must become not just habitable again after Armenian occupation, but a region attractive for living, investment, and tourism.
Now, we can see the outlines of this long-term strategy of the Great Return. The revived Karabakh will no longer resemble the mostly rural province it was during the Soviet era. A university is already operating in Khankendi. Shusha and Khankendi regularly host major international forums. A modern, competitive industry is emerging. Even traditional agriculture is being revitalized on a new foundation — with modern technologies and a new workforce. Comparing any region to Switzerland has become something of a cliché.
But judging by what’s being created, the new Karabakh may truly become the “Azerbaijani Switzerland”: with tourism, agriculture, the highest ecological standards, and growing diplomatic activity. Karabakh, which for centuries played an exceptional role in Azerbaijan’s history and culture, has long deserved such a future. Sadly, to make that future a reality, Azerbaijan had to endure a brutal war, thirty years of occupation, and ethnic cleansing. Fortunately, all of that is now behind us. We have returned to Karabakh as victors and rightful owners — returned forever, not only to revive this unique land, but to build a future worthy of it and its people.
Nurani
