BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 3. The total EU demining assistance to Azerbaijan from 2020 will amount to almost 13 million euros in 2023, Director General of the European Commission for Neighborhood and Negotiations, Gert Jan Koopman said, during the European Mine Action Team event, TurkicWorld reports.
"The European Union and EU Member States are the largest international donors in Azerbaijan's mine action field, having provided around €10 million in grant aid to support humanitarian demining in the country until 2020. The EU stands ready to provide additional assistance in this regard. Support from the EU and its member states is expected to amount to about 13 million euros this year within the Team Europe Imitative program, and further support can be expected in the following years," he stressed.
He mentioned that the EU plans to send an additional 2 million euros in grant funding to Azerbaijan this year as part of technical assistance on demining.
To note, a total of 141 anti-tank and 191 anti-personnel mines, as well as 2,502 unexploded ordnances, were found and neutralized in the territories of Azerbaijan liberated from occupation in April. According to the Azerbaijani Mine Action Agency, 6038.9 ha of land were cleared of mines.
