BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 28. Following the fall of Assad's regime in Syria, efforts are underway to determine the exact number and whereabouts of Azerbaijani citizens in the country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan said in its report for 2024, Trend reports.
The Ministry noted that, in accordance with the "Rules for repatriation, rehabilitation of Azerbaijani minor citizens living in difficult conditions abroad," approved by the Presidential Decree of the Republic of Azerbaijan on October 28, 2023, repatriation of Azerbaijani citizens continued throughout 2024.
"From 2020 through 2024, the number of Azerbaijani citizens repatriated from Syria reached 224, including 172 children and 52 women. At the same time, after the fall of Assad's regime, efforts are being made to determine the exact number and location of Azerbaijani citizens in Syria. Following the instructions of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, a total of 295 Azerbaijani citizens were repatriated from the Republic of Iraq in recent years – 288 children and 7 women.
Consular consultations were held throughout the year between Azerbaijan and Iraq, Hungary, Türkiye, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Luxembourg, Russia, Iran, Uzbekistan, Colombia, and Georgia.
Memoranda of Understanding were signed between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and the foreign ministries of Hungary, Tajikistan, and Pakistan regarding cooperation in consular affairs, along with bilateral agreements in this area with Albania, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Gambia," the ministry said.