President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan attended the inauguration of Faculty of Business and Economics building at Garabagh University on December 23.
The head of state was briefed on the facilities available in the new building, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.
The Faculty of Business and Economics is a key academic unit focused on creating a modern learning environment. Currently, it employs 20 faculty, administrative, and technical staff, and a total of 505 students are enrolled at the bachelor’s level in seven specialties: economics, finance, accounting, management, public and municipal administration, international trade and logistics, and tourism organisation.
The faculty prioritises the development of new academic content, the application of modern teaching methods, the enhancement of practical skills, innovative management, and result-oriented scientific research.
The new educational building includes 40 auditoriums, computer laboratories, a library, reading and assembly halls, meeting rooms, administrative offices, and faculty rooms. Designed and constructed according to modern university standards, the building incorporates principles of sustainable development, inclusivity, and efficient resource use. Its spacious, modern infrastructure facilitates effective educational, research, and administrative activities.
These facilities will strengthen the faculty’s scientific and pedagogical potential, enhance students’ knowledge and skills, train highly qualified specialists in economics and business to meet the evolving labour market demands, and expand scientific-research and innovation activities.
The commissioning of the new building is an important step in developing a modern campus at Garabagh University and contributes to establishing a high-level higher education ecosystem in Garabagh and East Zangezur.
During 2024–2025, President Ilham Aliyev visited Garabagh University to review ongoing work and participated in the opening ceremonies of the university, student dormitory, clinic building, and the educational corpus of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Currently, Garabagh University enrols 2,154 students across 27 specialities within six faculties.
Ilham Aliyev attended the opening of the 110/35/10 kV Khankendi-1 substation, operated by Azerenerji OJSC, in Khankendi.
Chairman of Azerenerji Baba Rzayev briefed the President on the completed works. In line with President Aliyev’s directives to establish a reliable electricity infrastructure in the liberated territories, a modern closed-type substation meeting urban grid standards was constructed. An 11-kilometre high-voltage line was laid from Shusha, including 1.8 kilometres of underground cable across mountainous and forested terrain. This is the first closed-type 110 kV substation in the liberated regions, with all equipment installed indoors.
The substation features a microprocessor-based Digital Control Centre operating on the Micro-SCADA system, enabling real-time monitoring and control of high-voltage lines and equipment. It will ensure an uninterrupted power supply to Khankendi city and the Aghdara, Khojaly, and Khojavend districts.
President Aliyev was also briefed on the 1,000-kilometre ring-type power supply network across Karabakh and East Zangezur. Over the past five years, Azerenerji built around 1,000 km of high-voltage lines connected through 12 new substations, forming a dual-circuit 330/110 kV ring system, including the Jabrayil Energy Hub and the reconstruction of Imishli, Aghjabadi, and Ganja substations. Digital Monitoring and Analysis Systems, first implemented here, use cameras, drones, and laser technologies to detect technical defects.
Additionally, Azerenerji is advancing the Green Energy Transition. The 500 kV Navahi substation has been completed, new 330 kV and 220 kV substations in Jabrayil and Sangachal have been commissioned to integrate the Shafag Solar Power Plant, and Battery Energy Storage Systems—the largest in the CIS—are under construction at Absheron and Aghdash. Wide Area Monitoring and Control systems are being introduced to integrate 2 GW of new renewable capacity and enhance grid stability.
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President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan visited the Karkijahan settlement of the city of Khankendi on December 23.
Elchin Yusubov, the President’s Special Representative in the city of Khankendi and the Aghdara and Khojaly districts, updated the head of state on the ongoing development work in the settlement, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.
Renovation works began in May this year. The settlement currently comprises 33 apartment buildings and 1,037 individual houses, of which 247 are uninhabitable, and 790 are partially habitable. Plans include the repair of 40 houses by the end of this year and 280 houses in 2026. To date, renovation works have been completed in 30 houses. In the first phase, 30 families, comprising 115 residents, have returned to their ancestral homes after temporary displacement in other cities and districts.
A number of social infrastructure projects have also been implemented. In the individual housing area, water, electricity, and gas lines were inspected, 2 kilometers of underground optical cable and 510 meters of power lines were installed, street lighting was ensured, and internal roads were asphalted.
Additionally, major repairs were carried out at the 60-seat No. 1 nursery-kindergarten and the secondary school designed for 624 students. President Ilham Aliyev had previously visited the settlement on October 15, 2023.
Secondary School No. 1 in Karkijahan reopened following extensive renovations.
Ilham Aliyev attended the opening ceremony of the newly renovated Secondary School No. 1 in the Karkijahan settlement of the city of Khankendi on December 23.
Minister of Science and Education Emin Amrullayev briefed the head of state on the project.
The major renovation of the school, designed for 624 students, was carried out to a high standard and completed within a short period of time. The building now includes 17 classrooms, specialized laboratories, STEAM and IT rooms, military training classrooms, as well as biology, chemistry, physics and technology classrooms, club rooms, a pre-school preparation room, a library and reading hall, a gymnasium, an assembly hall, and a cafeteria, all fully equipped and ready for use by teachers and students. Each room is furnished with the necessary educational equipment and teaching resources.
Additionally, an outdoor sports facility has been built on the school premises. Overall, the school provides comprehensive conditions for the organization of a high-quality educational process.
Ilham Aliyev laid the foundation for Garabagh University’s Engineering Faculty building in Khankendi.
The head of state was briefed on the facilities planned for the new building.
The Engineering Faculty is a key academic unit focused on training engineering personnel equipped to meet modern technological challenges, with an emphasis on innovation and practical application. Currently, the faculty employs 19 academic, administrative, and technical staff, and a total of 314 students are enrolled.
At the bachelor’s level, training is provided in seven specialities: electrical and electronics, construction, mechatronics and robotics, logistics and transport technologies, computer engineering, data analytics, and mathematics. Additional engineering specialities are planned for the future.
The new building will be constructed according to modern standards and is expected to be completed in a short timeframe. It will feature auditoriums, laboratories, a library, and scientific-research and innovation spaces designed to ensure high-quality education, strengthen students’ theoretical knowledge and practical skills, and foster innovative activity.
The project is expected to make a significant contribution to the development of engineering education in Azerbaijan, promote the application of modern academic content and innovative teaching methods, and create an advanced higher education environment supporting the comprehensive development of students.
Aliyev met with residents relocated to Karkijahan settlement
President Aliyev met with residents who have relocated to the Karkijahan settlement in the city of Khankendi on December 23.
Welcoming the residents, President Ilham Aliyev said:
“I congratulate you on your return to your native land after 34 years. Praise be to Allah, our lands have been liberated from the occupiers, and all former displaced persons are gradually returning to their ancestral lands, including today to the settlement of Karkijahan. This return process continues, and today the ‘Great Return’ Program is the most successfully implemented return program on a global scale.
You lived for many years in challenging circumstances, enduring physical and emotional hardship. Now this has come to an end. After 34 years, you are returning to your native Karkijahan. This is a great happiness both for you and for our entire people.
In late December 1991, the Armenian state forcibly displaced you from your ancestral land. It was the end of December then, and now, at the end of December 2025, justice has been fully restored here as well. Of course, it is not difficult to imagine how much suffering you endured during these years – both in terms of living conditions and moral torment, as well as the feeling of injustice. But I am certain that, like the entire nation, you believed that one day we would return here.
Two years ago, as a result of an anti-terror operation, the settlement of Karkijahan, together with the city of Khankendi, was liberated from the occupiers, and life is now being rebuilt here.
I visited this settlement in October. At that time, I gave instructions for the renovation of houses and the school, as well as the implementation of other necessary infrastructure projects. Today, while familiarizing myself with the settlement, I see that everything has been organized at a high level. The settlement is pleasing to the eye. Of course, this is only the first stage of restoration, because during the occupation the enemy rendered the settlement uninhabitable. Many houses were uninhabitable. Therefore, repair and restoration works have been carried out for nearly two years. Some streets have now been fully renovated, houses have been made fully ready, and all conditions for living here have been created.
I would like to congratulate you once again wholeheartedly on this occasion. I am confident that you will live comfortably and prosperously here. The main thing is that you are on your native land.
Unfortunately, at that time, the Azerbaijani leadership was unable to protect you, failed to demonstrate political will, showed cowardice, and in fact reconciled itself with the occupation. The subsequent government worsened the situation even further. The occupation of Shusha and Lachin occurred approximately five months after the occupation of Karkijahan. Before that, the Khojaly genocide was committed. At that time, both the leadership remaining from the Soviet era and the so-called leadership associated with the popular movement effectively abandoned the people living here to their fate. They could have defended you, but they did not.
Some acted out of cowardice, while others, in their pursuit of power, created chaos and anarchy in Azerbaijan and, in many cases, through betrayal, handed over our lands to the enemy. The APF–Musavat duo that later came to power plunged the country into a deep crisis through their incompetent and treacherous actions. Civil war, the occupation of Kalbajar, and the loss of the Lachin–Khankendi road gave Armenia significant advantages and ultimately led to large-scale occupation.
We, however, worked and fought day and night to liberate our ancient lands from enemy occupation and won the war. It is true that during the Second Karabakh War we did not completely end the occupation, but we never doubted that Khankendi, Khojavend, Aghdara, Asgaran, Karkijahan, and all other settlements and cities still under occupation at that time would be liberated.
Two years ago, as a result of an anti-terror operation that lasted only a few hours, we fully ended the occupation, restored our sovereignty, permanently expelled the occupiers from our lands, and today we live in peace. This is such a glorious history that I am confident both the current and future generations will always take pride in it.
Your return here once again proves that justice exists; one simply has to ensure it. I congratulate you once again.”
By Aghakazim Guliyev
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