Press - Official Opening Press Conference of WUF13 (WUF13)

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning.
Opening press conference of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum, WUF 13 in Baku.
My name is Nada Tudor from Eur News and it is my pleasure to host today's opening press conference.
For the next week, global leaders, policymakers, urban experts and stakeholders will gather to discuss one of the most defining challenges of our time.
How do we house the world safely, inclusively, and sustainably? This year's theme is housing the world, safe and resilient communities.
This year's forum comes at a critical time where cities are under more pressure than ever before to modernize and accommodate a growing urban population.
We are honored to be joined today by distinguished guests representing both the international community and the host country Azerbijan.
I would like to now introduce our speakers this morning.
Miss Anna Claudia Rosbach, Executive Director of UN Habitat, Mr.
Anna Gliiev Chairman of the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture of the Republic of Azerbijan and WUF 13 National Coordinator.
Mr.
Agar Ko Ming, President of the United Nations Habitat Assembly and Minister of Housing and Local Development in Malaysia.
We will begin with opening remarks from the Executive Director of UN Habitat.
Madam Executive Director, the floor is yours.
Thank you, Nadira.
Good morning, Excellencies, members of the press.
Good sunny morning to all of you.
We are opening the W Aban forum at a defining moment for cities and communities worldwide.
The scale and the urgency of today's urban challenges demand faster, more coordinated, and more inclusive action.
We gather here in Baku, hosted by the government of Azerbijan at a time when the world's urban future is being reshaped by crisis and opportunity alike.
We are grateful for Azerbijan's leadership in convening this global platform and for its commitment to advancing dialogue and cooperation on sustainable urban development.
Nearly 3 billion people are living in conditions of housing inadequacy.
More than 1 billion live in informal settlements and slumps and over 300 million face homelessness.
This is not a set of isolated challenges.
It is a systemic global crisis.
These challenges are no longer sectoral or incremental.
They reflect structural failures in how cities are financed, planned, and governed.
But this is not only a housing crisis.
It is a crisis of inclusion of opportunity, resilience, and dignity.
Housing is the entry point, but the solution lies in how we plan, govern, and invest in our cities.
Ladies and gentlemen, housing is a human right and a foundation for achieving the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, particularly Sustainable Development Goal 11, to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
The central message for this forum is clear.
Housing must be placed at the heart of integrated urban solutions, linking land, basic services, climate action, mobility, and economic opportunity.
Since its establishment by the United Nations General Assembly, the World Urban Forum has become the leading global platform for dialogue and action on sustainable urbanization.
WUF 13 is the moment to reset how the world acts on urbanization.
Convened here in Baku, this forum reflects Azerbijan's role in fostering global dialogue on sustainable urban development and advancing cooperation across regions.
This World Aan Forum, WUF 13, is the largest forum that has been ever convened by UN habitat.
We have over 41,000 participants from 182 countries, including heads of state, ministers, mayors, UN officials, and leaders from across government, business, academia, and civil society.
UN HPTAT works with governments and partners supporting stronger policies, more effective institutions, and scalable solutions that deliver impact on the ground.
However, despite growing global consensus, the gap between policy ambition and implementation remains wide.
In this context, the Word Urban Forum is a platform for action, bringing together a global coalition committed to advancing transformative urban change.
WUF 13 provides a structured space to move from dialogue to delivery through high level sessions, including six high level dialogues, over 370 partner led events, and a global urban expo featuring over 130 exhibitions.
This edition introduces new initiatives to accelerate learning and scale solutions.
The Practices Hub, the WUF Academy, and the Business and Innovation Hub, with its startup pavilion, bringing together tested innovations, skills development, and market ready solutions across the housing and urban value chain.
WUF 13 also strengthen political engagement, including a ministerial dialogue that will help shape the next phase of the new urban agenda.
This combination of policy dialogue, innovation, capacity building, and political engagement makes WUF 13 a global platform for delivery.
Cities are already leading.
Across the world, we see practical solutions from upgrading informal settlements to expanding services and strengthening climate resilience.
The challenge is not the absence of solutions, it is the speed and the scale of their implementation.
Much of the innovation is already happening at the local level, often under difficult conditions and with limited resources.
Empowering cities and communities is essential to achieving global goals.
Partnerships remain central.
No single actor can respond to the scale and complexity of today's urban challenges alone.
W 13 is a moment to move from dialogue to delivery, from commitments into concrete action.
The forum will conclude with the Baku code to action, reflecting a shared vision and a collective commitment to accelerate progress towards inclusive, resilient, and sustainable cities.
The urgency is clear, the knowledge exists, the solutions are within reach.
What is needed now is collective determination so that the promise of inclusive, resilient, and sustainable cities becomes a reality for all.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Madam Executive Director for those important opening remarks and for setting the tone for the upcoming days ahead here at WUF 13.
I would now like to invite Mr.
Anar Guiev, who is the Chairman of the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture of the Republic of Azerbijan and WUF 13 National Coordinator to deliver his statement.
Mr.
Guliev over to you.
Thank you very much.
Distinguished representatives of media.
Ladies and gentlemen, good morning.
Today marks an important moment not only for Azerbijan but for the global urban community.
Over the coming days, Baku becomes the meeting point for governments, mayors, international organizations, financial institutions, academia and civil society, youth, women, the private sector, local communities, all united by one common purpose, shaping better urban future for all.
Our road to WOV 13 began long before today.
Since 2021, Azerbijan has been actively organizing national urban forums, creating an important national platform for dialogue on sustainable urban development.
These forums brought together various stakeholders society to societies to discuss the future of our citizen settlements.
This forums helped us strengthen national coordination, identify priorities, exchange experiences to anallign our policies with the principles of the urban agenda and sustainable development goals.
More importantly, they created a culture of inclusive urban dialogue where different voices and different sectors contribute to shaping better cities.
Many ways, these national Urban forums became the foundation of our journey toward hosting WO 13.
They demonstrate Azerbijan's commitment not only to urban development, but also to multilateral cooperation, stakeholder engagement, and practical implementation.
Today, WUF 13 in Baku is a natural continuation of that journey, a global extension of the national conversations we have been building over the past years.
Hosting the World Urban Forum is both a great responsibility and a strong expression of trust from the international community and from and habitat.
We deeply value this partnership and close cooperation that has made Wof 13 possible.
Our collaboration has been built on shared values, sustainability, inclusion, resilience, and the belief that cities must serve people first.
For Azerbijan hosting WUF 13 is not simply an international event.
It is a reflection of our national priorities and our vision for the future.
Across our country, we are advancing major urban transformation efforts, modernizing cities, expanding green infrastructure, improving public services, investing in affordable housing, strengthening climate resilience, and building smarter and more inclusive communities.
At the same time, in our liberated territories, we are implementing one of the largest reconstruction and redevelopment efforts of our time.
Cities and villages that were once destroyed are being rebuilt based on the principles of sustainability, smart urban planning, green growth, and human dignity.
This is not only reconstruction, it is the creation of a new model of urban development.
Move 13 gives us the opportunity to share these experiences and equally importantly, to learn from others.
This forum is truly global in scale.
By 17 May, total registration reached 42,367 from 182 countries.
On the first day of the forum, yesterday on 17th of May, number of attendances made 21,108.
The forum is also enriched by a dynamic urban expo, bringing together national governments, city administrations, international organizations, academia, innovators, and private sector leaders to showcase practical solutions and partnerships.
The statistic of the Urban expo reflects the big interest in the forum, total area of the expo is covering about 35,000 square meters and about half of it is exhibited space.
In total, 260 participating organizations from 85 countries represented in 122 stands and pavilions.
If we will look at the organizations by partner type, 15 of them are academia and research, biggest number, civil society representatives, 136, 44 private sector, including 14 startups, national governments, 41 pavilions, ten public sector companies and six local and regional government representatives.
The Azerbijani Pavilion at the urban expert designed in the space of 1,500 square meters will demonstrate our heritage, urban development pathway, tourism attraction, and large scale reconstruction projects implemented in the liberated territories in Karabakh and Isan Azur.
The pavilion is designed on the concept from vision to action with people, introducing the urban transformation journey of Azerbijan.
Move 13, we are also proud to introduce new initiatives that reflect both Azerbijan's contribution and evolving spirit of the forum.
The key distinguishing feature of Wof 13 will be its strong high level political engagement.
For the first time in the history of the World Urban Forum, WUF 13 will convene a leader segment, bringing together heads of state and government to deliberate on the future of our cities.
Azerbijan will launch together with UN Habitat Baku Urban Aor a new international initiative that will become an important platform for recognizing outstanding achievements in sustainable urban development and particularly in housing.
WOV 13 will leave important legacies beyond the forum itself.
Alongside many initiatives and policy outcomes, operational excellence is also a key dimension of efficiently organizing the World Urban Forum.
Based on the Baku standards developed by the WOf 13 Azerbijan operational Company, we intend to collaborate with UN Habitat to jointly prepare an informative operational guide for next hosts of World Urban Forums.
One of the most important legacy outcomes of Wo 13 for us is the achievement of adopting the ISO 2021 standard at the national level.
This result reflects our commitment to ensuring the major international events and organized not only successfully, but also responsibly and sustainably.
The private sector representation is enlarged with the establishment of the Business and Innovation Hub, which also creates platform for the startups and raise their visibility.
Dear media representatives, WOV 13 is not only a conference.
It is a platform for action.
Our goal is clear to ensure that this forum delivers practical outcomes and leaves a meaningful legacy both for Azerbijan and for the international Urban agenda.
Your role in presenting information about WOV 13 is essential.
By highlighting the forum, you ensure that its objectives, achievements, and discussions are widely communicated to the global community.
By this, journalists not only inform the world about W 13, but also call for concrete actions, foster partnerships, and promote policy innovation at the global scale.
We hope every participant leaves Baku not only inspired but equipped with stronger partnerships, clearer priorities, and renewed determination.
Thank you once again and welcome to Baku.
Thank you very much, Mr.
Gliv.
I would now like to invite our representative of the governing bodies of UN Habitat President of the United Nations Habitat Assembly and Minister of Housing and Local Development of Malaysia and Gk Ming to deliver their remarks.
Mr.
Ming, the floor is yours.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Excellency, members of the media, ladies and gentlemen.
Good morning, Sabahas Hayes.
It is a pleasure to join you at this official press conference of the 13 sessions of the World Urban Forum.
This forum, it brings together a global coalitions, governments, local authorities, international organizations, experts and partners at a defining moment.
As I look at the representative gathered here in Baku, I'm reminded that while we walk, When we talk of urbanization in numbers, we must lead with the heart, with humanity as our core agenda.
A city is not merely a collection of buildings.
It is a collection of human stories.
Urbanization continue to transform societies at an unprecedented pace.
While cities generate economic opportunities, innovation, and cultural exchange, they are also increasingly exposed to housing pressures, climate risk, social inequalities, and growing demands for infrastructure and public services.
For many people, especially vulnerable communities, Access to adequate housing remain one of the most urgent concerns.
This is why the theme of this year's forum, housing the World, safe and resilientt cities and communities is particularly timely.
It is a reminder that humanity is our superpower.
While technology may scale, transform information, it cannot scale the trust of the wisdom required to build a community.
Throughout this week, our discussion will focus on practical approaches to make cities inclusive and resilient.
We expect significant exchanges of housing policies as well as financing, but we must ensure these blueprints lead to legacies.
The future does not belong to those who predict it.
It belongs to those who built it.
Yesterday's ministerial meeting on the new urban agenda demonstrated a strong political view ahead of the high level midterm review in New York this coming July.
As president of the UN Habitat Assembly, I sincerely believe this process offers an important opportunity to strengthen international cooperation and maintain political momentum around sustainable urbanization.
It is critical to move from motherhood statements to measurable impact on the ground.
I also believe that platforms such as the World Urban Forum remain essential because it allows government and stakeholders to learn from one another and identify practical solutions that can be adapted to different national and also local contexts.
Malaysia remains committed to working with member states and partners to advance sustainable urban development and improve the quality of life in cities and communities.
Once again, I'm inspired by the Azam Azer Bizani provet that resonated deeply with our work.
Dama, daa.
Aha aha Hola.
It means that drop by drop, a lake is formed, and by flowing, a river is made.
World Urban Forum is a time we turn dialogue to delivery from vision to reality.
Together, we shall make our dreams come true.
Thank you.
Jobs Ho.
Thank you very much, honorable Minister, and thank you to all our speakers well.
We can now move on to the question and answer section.
We can take one question for each of the speakers, and I'd kindly ask you to introduce yourself and your media organization before asking your question and please keep your questions relevant and concise as we are short on time.
So let's begin.
Please do raise your hands.
We'll go with urines over there if you stand up, sir.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I'll keep it quick.
I've got two questions.
One for Anna Gliv and also for the executive director.
Anna, if I could start with you.
We've heard from Azerbijan a lot about opportunities.
What opportunities from your perspective does W 13 create for the region and what benefits do you think we'll be able to see in the future? For executive director, we've talked a lot about the solutions already being there.
I heard that in your speech.
What role do you think international cooperation and relationships should play in improving urban issues? Thank you.
Shall I say? Thank you for your question.
I think WUF 13 actually as any WUF, all 13 of them created a lot of opportunities.
WUF 13 is very new for this region.
This is the first time in our part of the world.
So this is already opportunity number one that we, together with many our neighbors and friends are are able to sit together to discuss what our future of our cities will look like.
Of course, there are a lot of interesting sessions, events, expertise around which I believe all of us will benefit from.
Yes.
Thank you for your questions.
Yeah.
I've been repeating that and you're going to see that today in the next days here in Baku.
Just to mention some of the outputs of this forum, we are launching a W cities report dedicated on housing.
If you go through this report, you're going to see how cities and countries are dealing with that.
A full report on local solutions by the local 2030 platform, which is a UN in 15.
In together with partners such as local and regional governments, private sector, civil society, and so on.
We have a full dedicated practices hub.
We have compiled practices from all over the world.
This is a live platform that we are establishing in support of member states.
Convening partners like that is one example of how international organizations can work at the advocacy level, at the knowledge transfer level.
There's also a strong role in terms of norm setting, in relation to the theme of this forum, hat has been supporting member states on an open ended working group on housing.
Azerbaijan is the current co facilitator together with Somalia.
This open ended working group is going to be working in 29 and is expected to generate a set of normative guidance based on the trends, based on the consensus, based on the agreements.
How is it that we should deal with the housing crisis? What kind of policies are recommended by the United Nations, by the member states? What kind of plans, urban plans are recommended? What kind of projects to address the informal settlements? What kind of standards construction should have to respect the social needs, but also the environmental needs? Then finally, there's a role in terms of providing technical assistance, bringing these solutions, these trends to build on whatever assets out there in the different countries.
The housing crisis is global.
It has a couple of common denominators, people living in precarious conditions, people living on the streets, people that cannot afford to buy or rent a housing.
However, the context are different and there are cultural aspects, there are socio economic aspects that we have to be attentive, institutional capacities that we have to build.
So at the end of the day, we have to support countries to really build the systems that will work to face the housing crisis, the national policies, the laws, the local urban plans, and the right financial systems.
Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Executive and Mr.
Gliief.
And we can take another question.
I think we'll take AZTV there, I think at the front there.
Good morning.
My name is Rahila Hamidva and I'm from Azerbijan State Television.
Miss A Klaura well, I would like to address my first question to you.
Today's cities are not only growing, but also facing climate and social pressures.
In your opinion, what kind of model will save the cities of the future? My second question is to you, Mr.
Nagy.
Following the second Kaag Azerbijan has been rebuilding cities and villages almost from the ground.
And incorporating smart city concepts, green energy solutions, and also modern urban planning approach.
And in your view, could this experience become an international model for post conflict reconstruction and sustainable urban development? Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you for your question.
I think what kind of cities we expect for the future.
The real answer to that is at the New Urban Agenda.
We mentioned the New Urban Agenda before.
The New Urban Agenda is a global commitment that was agreed among member states in to Ecuador at the APA three conference exactly ten years ago in 2016.
And this year, under the GA General Assembly, member states are reviewing what happened in the last ten years and what will happen in the next ten years.
And the New Urban Agenda is very clear.
The New Urban Agenda talks about cities that are planned for the people, cities are planned for the nature, cities that are inclusive, cities that leave nobody behind.
The New Urban Agenda talks about cities that embeds the informal settlements in their plans and design policies to address the needs and the opportunities by this.
The New Urban Agenda brings housing at the center.
The New Urban Agenda recognizes that land doesn't only have an economic value but it has a relevant social ecological function, and therefore, we have to look carefully at city expansion.
The New Urban Agenda talks about compact cities, talks about balanced densities, talks about public spaces, talks about cities that are planned by with, and for women.
Thank you.
Thank you for your question.
I think your first question was also about climate issues for cities.
If I may add, this is extremely important and we're trying to make it also part of discussions during this forum.
We are assessing now ten years of implementation of new urban agenda, and also we have to looking at the next ten years.
So I believe we may start talking about new urban climate agenda for the next ten years.
And actually, only first two days of this forum showed us very different weather, and this is also a result of climate change.
Honestly, as a person who grew up in Baku, I never seen this much rain in May.
This is not natural.
But this is what we are facing.
This is what reality is.
And that's why these kind of discussions and forums are important.
We have to find a way to be adaptive to the climate change.
With regard to post conflict recovery and our great return program, it is already very interesting for many international institutions, partners.
Within a short period of time, Azerbijan passed through many challenging processes, I can say successfully.
Starting from the mining challenges, then complex planning at the same time within the big enough area in parallel, 12 cities, hundreds of villages.
This is really huge amount of work, and it is not just planning, we are trying to follow all the trends, all the recommendations, and we're not just building houses and bringing people back to the buildings.
We're designing and creating new quality of life on this area.
Besides, there is very unique model of governance, institutional approach in institutional reforms.
His Excellency, Mr.
President implemented in Azerbijan at the end today, we have almost 90,000 people right now already leaving, working, studying at the universities in Karabak and Eastern Zangizor.
All this even yesterday during one day, we already had several interesting discussions with friends from Syria, from Ukraine and from other many cities.
I'm sure we will have discussions.
We will have several presentations about work done in Azerbijan and I believe we should not wish, but unfortunately, we have today more conflict affected areas than ever.
That means we need to think how life will come back to those territories.
Thank you.
I'm afraid we've run out of time now, so it's time to bring our question and answer session to a close.
Thank you very much to all the members of the media for joining us today.
Thank you once again to all our distinguished guests.
Many discussions will be taking place over the coming days here in Baku, which will reflect the growing importance of cities in shaping our future and the way we live.
From housing to climate resilience, from sustainable development to infrastructure.
We're looking forward to all of those conversations, potential solutions and partnerships that are sure to emerge from WUF 13.
Thank you again, and please enjoy the rest of the week.