AZERBAIJANI MINISTER OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ARRIVES IN GEORGIA TO SAVE COMPATRIOTS FROM STARVATION

Azerbaijan Business Center
7:09 a.m. Thursday, August 20, 2009

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. After a break of diplomatic relation between
Georgia and Russia Georgian Azerbaijanis lost without maintenance
of life.

Zumrud Gurbanov, deputy chairman operating in Georgia Azerbaijani
popular movement Geyrat (Honour), basic part of profits of Azerbaijanis
of Georgia comes from realization of agricultural production in the
Russian territory.

"After August war of 2008, a border between Georgia and Russia is
closed in full, and Azerbaijanis remained without the market outlet
of their products," Gurbanov said. As a result, unemployment has
grown sharply in the Azerbaijani districts.

"Only during the last year from Georgia over 60,000 Azerbaijanis
went in search of job and the basic part of them settled in
Azerbaijan. Along with this, in Azerbaijan these people face with
problems, related to migration procedures. To solve the problem,
we in Baku conducted meetings in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
the State Committee for Work with Diaspora. Following the results of
negotiations we reached the agreement on the necessity of investment
of the Azerbaijani investments in those Georgian regions, where
Azerbaijanis reside compactly. To solve these issues Azerbaijani
minister of economic development Shakhin Mustafaev will arrive in to
Georgia," Z,Gurbanov said.

In his turn, the chairman of Geyrat movement Alibala Askerov to
solve the problems of compatriots considers necessary realization in
Georgia of the joint Azerbaijani-Georgian projects in the region,
where Azerbaijanis residing. He emphasized three basic problems of
Azerbaijanis in Georgia: land, linguistic and toponymic.

"Azerbaijanis in Georgia remained without land, because starting
with 1996 Georgian authorities in all ways impede registration of
the land areas by our compatriots. Azerbaijani language in Georgia,
which was one of basic ones in the republic, lost the former status
today. In addtion, Georgian authorities rename from Azerbaijani to
Georgian language names of settlements and geographical localities,
put crosses in the places of compact residence of Azerbaijanis,"
A.Askarov said.