Tokyo, November 19, AZERTAC

Japanese JIJI Press has published an article by the agency`s editor in chief Okuyama Masashi who visited Azerbaijan late September to attend the 5th Baku International Humanitarian Forum.

In his article, Masashi hails achievements of Azerbaijan. The article tells about favourable geographic position of Azerbaijan, rich oil and gas fields. He says the country effectively channels revenues from international projects into developing and diversifying its economy. The article lauds the Azerbaijani government`s efforts to develop the non-oil sectors of economy, modernize transport infrastructure, improve agriculture and tourism.

In Baku, Masashi met with refugees and IDPs living in Baku and nearby settlements. He provides an insight into the life of more than one million refugees and IDPs expelled from their homelands by the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

He writes that the UN Security Council adopted four resolutions on unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian troops from the occupied Azerbaijani lands, but Armenia continues to keep these territories under occupation. On the recent escalation of tension on the Armenian- Azerbaijani border, Masashi says the Azerbaijani armed forces repulsed the attack of the Armenian armed forces and retook 200 hectares of land this April.

He also highlighted the history of Azerbaijan`s oil industry, saying the industrial method of oil production was first used in the country in the mid 19th century. JIJI Press editor-in-chief says Nobel brothers and Rothschild established their oil business in Baku. The article tells about oil strategy developed by national leader Heydar Aliyev after restoration of the independence, particularly his initiating the establishment of an international consortium of foreign companies to produce oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli oil field. Masashi provides a detailed insight into the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipelines, TAP and TANAP projects, the North-South and East-West transport corridors, as well as the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad project.

He also hails the fact that poverty has been reduced from 49 to 4 per cent over the last 15 years under President Ilham Aliyev.