Ilham Aliyev, UN-Habitat Chief Discuss Preparations for WUF13 in Baku

Baku, The Gulf Obsrver: President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on May 16 received Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, to discuss preparations for the 13th Session of the UN World Urban Forum (WUF13) and prospects for further cooperation between Azerbaijan and the UN agency.

During the meeting, Anacláudia Rossbach praised the extensive preparations underway in Baku for WUF13, describing Azerbaijan’s organizational approach as innovative and capable of ensuring a highly productive forum.

She thanked Azerbaijan for its efforts and expressed confidence that the country would successfully host the prestigious international event.

Rossbach also highlighted Azerbaijan’s successful hosting of COP29, noting that the country is now preparing to organize another major United Nations event shortly afterward.

She stated that COP and the World Urban Forum are among the largest events within the UN system and emphasized that Azerbaijan has effectively created a bridge between the two international platforms.

The UN-Habitat Executive Director further commended Azerbaijan for its voluntary financial contributions to the organization and praised the ongoing cooperation between Azerbaijan and UN-Habitat, including the regular organization of National Urban Planning Forums in the country.

Expressing hope for continued successful cooperation, Rossbach underlined the importance of Azerbaijan’s engagement in global urban development initiatives.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked the UN-Habitat Executive Director for her remarks and reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s commitment to hosting WUF13 at the highest level.

The Azerbaijani President noted that all necessary measures had been undertaken to ensure the forum’s success, recalling that he had personally reviewed preparations for the event at the Baku Olympic Stadium several days earlier.

President Aliyev expressed confidence that the forum would produce practical and meaningful outcomes.

He also highlighted Azerbaijan’s experience in urban planning, particularly the innovative approaches implemented in large-scale restoration and reconstruction projects in the country’s liberated territories following the conflict period.

According to the President, Azerbaijan’s post-conflict urban development experience can serve as a model for other countries, adding that Baku is ready to share its expertise internationally.

The two sides also discussed future prospects for cooperation between Azerbaijan and UN-Habitat and expressed satisfaction with the growing partnership.

Following the meeting, a Letter of Intent was signed between the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture of Azerbaijan and UN-Habitat to cooperate on developing operational guidelines for hosting future World Urban Forum sessions based on the WUF13 Baku standards.

The document aims to provide a practical framework and decision-making guide for future host countries to improve the operational efficiency and organization of upcoming World Urban Forum sessions.