Azerbaijanis Visit New 'Smart Village' In Land Recaptured From Armenia

A group of internally-displaced families visit Agali, in Azerbaijan’s southwestern region of Zangilan on July 19. The province was held by ethnic Armenians from 1993 until Baku launched a war to reclaim territory in and around Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2020.
 

Agali (pictured), is one of several infrastructure projects pushed by Baku to attract people into sparsely-populated regions formerly held by ethnic Armenian forces. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has touted the resettlement drive as “the great return.”
 

Agali is labelled a “smart village” -- a concept ostensibly intended to boost the rural economy through high-speed Internet access, green technology, and the digitization of many aspects of life, including interaction with the government.

A family are shown around houses in Agali on July 19. Azerbaijanis who were displaced by the 1988-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh war have reportedly been offered to have the cost of moving into recaptured territories paid for by the state.

A fountain intended to symbolize peace in the center of Agali. Critics of the flashy new village say the settlement, located in an isolated region of Azerbaijan will have little to offer in terms of work.
 

New buildings and a sports complex in Agali. Farmers say a ban on keeping cows near houses in the new village could potentially make life more arduous for rural families. 
 

Signage at the entrance to Agali.
The concept of “smart villages” in Azerbaijan has been promoted by the World Bank, which published a report in 2020 calling for highly-digitized settlements to be built across Azerbaijan “to improve rural economic opportunities, infrastructure, services, and governance.”
 

The center of Agali seen on July 19

Some experts say “smart” is becoming a euphemism for surveillance in countries throughout the world where largely Chinese technology is being used to monitor citizens. A pro-government Azerbaijani news website has reported that, along with other digital systems employed in Agali, a medical center would take scans of patients' eyes, and applications for government services will be made via video link.