Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 21 / Trend T.Hajiyev /
The Azerbaijani Ministries must take seriously the problem of food security, Deputy Prime Minister Ali Hasanov said at a food security seminar.
"Today, Azerbaijan does not face food shortages thanks to the policy pursued by President Ilham Aliyev. However, this does not mean that this issue should be treated lightly. No country is insured against food shortages," Hasanov said.
Azerbaijan monitored the food security in the country a few months ago. Azerbaijan is interested in a permanent conduct of such monitoring, he said.
Hasanov said the problem of food shortages is observed in many countries. Azerbaijan, he said, should focus not only on its capabilities, but also the use of advanced foreign experience.
According to the UN nearly one billion people suffer from hunger and malnutrition in the world today.
Hasanov said the problem of the occupied Azerbaijani territories and Armenia's aggression against Azerbaijan remains unresolved.
"Azerbaijan has a problem of about 1 million refugees and IDPs. We surely should be very cautious over the issue of food security until this problem resolved, until Azerbaijan has poor people and poverty reduced to zero," he said.
Hasanov expressed regret over the fact that the Armenian aggression and occupation of Azerbaijani lands still has not received a proper legal assessment in the world.
"We regret that the world is indifferent towards our problem," Hasanov said. "The resolutions taken in respect of certain countries are executed within one to two hours, but the decisions taken with regard to the Karabakh issue are not fulfilled for 20 years. We must take this into account and understand that no one will support us in difficult moments. Therefore, we must rely on our capabilities."
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.