Special Session - Cities at the heart of connectivity: Urban reconstruction and regional cooperation (WUF13)

Hello everybody.
Very warm welcome, Excellencies, distinguished guests, friends from around the world.
Welcome to this special session here at the World Urban Forum.
You're guests, of course, of the Azerbijani government and we're very delighted to have you with us.
Before the event in earnest begins, we have a special adjustment to the agenda.
We're going to start with a signing ceremony, a short signing ceremony before the main part of the event begins.
We'll be signing a memorandum of understanding between the city of Trabzon in the Republic of Turkey.
And the city of Susia in the Republic of Azerbijan.
Now this is for the establishment of twinning links and cooperation in the area of culture, tourism, urban planning, science, economy, and other areas of public life.
To complete this momentous signing, we will have Mr.
Aiden Karov special representative of the president of the Republic of Azerbijan in the Sus District, And to sign on behalf of Travzon we'll have Mr.
Ahmet Meeting Gench head of the metropolitan municipality of the city of Travzon of the Republic of Turkey.
Gentlemen, please welcome.
I'll be bringing you free to sign short Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
Thank you so much has long played a vital role in connecting west and east.
Here at the crossroads where continents meet and cultures converge, movement brought people, ideas, and traditions together, shaping a society defined by diversity and coexistence.
Today, that connecting role continues with greater clarity and purpose.
With independence, Azerbijan reemerged not only as a sovereign nation, but also as a strategic bridge between Europe and Asia, driven by strong political will and a long term vision, and heavily invested in roads, railways, ports, and international airports to transform its transport sector.
Just as BTC and Tanap reshaped global energy routes, projects like the Baku Tubilisi Cars Railway and the Port of Alot became the backbone of transport transformation, enabling current connectivity in future corridors like Sansor.
Today, with the libération of Kerbok, a new reality has begun to take shape.
At the center of this vision is the Zhaangazur corridor.
This is not a standalone route, but part of a much broader logistics ecosystem.
Azerbijan is building an integrated transport architecture designed for speed, flexibility, and resilience.
And this is the unique project aligning with the Chinese Belt and Road and European global gateways initiatives.
Covering over 500 kilometers from Alat to Agband and through Nkchvan to the Turkish border, the railway and parallel highway are set to be completed by the end of 2026.
A key component is the 43 kilometers section through Armenia, developed under the Trip Initiative, which will restore the historic rail link between Mainland Azerbijan and Nkchvan.
Once fully operational, the corridor is expected to handle up to 15 million tons of freight annually, complementing the capacity of the middle corridor railway and significantly enhancing regional resilience.
As the Turkish side has inaugurated the building the Cars to Luchu segment of the corridor, this link will provide the circularity to guarantee seamless flow of people and freight.
Digital solutions from e services to advanced transit management systems are making transport and border procedures faster, more transparent, and more predictable.
This project reflects Azerbijan's sustainable transport policy, a strategic vision grounded in peace, cooperation, and regional integration, and a mission that connects nations.
The corridor will boost socioeconomic development along its route by giving China diversified access to Europe and offering Europe a resilient gateway to Eastern markets via Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
The corridor also revitalizes the North South transport corridor, deepening the integration of regional transport networks, expanding trade, stimulating investment, and supporting long term stability and sustainable development.
The Zhaangazur corridor is a statement of connection, a platform for cooperation, and a renewed expression of Azerbijan's role as a trusted and strategic transit hub across Eurasia.
Azerbijan where connections come together.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, another very warm welcome to this special session at the World Urban Forum hosted by the government of Azerbijan entitled Heart of Connectivity, Urban Reconstruction and Regional Cooperation.
Connectivity, of course, no longer simply about transport routes or trade corridors, but more about infrastructure, energy systems, digital networks, and great planning coming together to create something much more powerful, resilient, livable, and economically dynamic cities and nowhere is that more visible than here in Azerbijan.
Well, we're fortunate to be joined today by an exceptional group of speakers who bring global perspectives, practical experience, and of course, strategic insights.
Let me begin by welcoming our high level speakers to the stage, and then I will invite the opening remarks.
First, we're honored to be joined by Mr.
Jahn Barov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbijan We're also honored to be joined by Mr.
Anna Galev, chairman of the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture, Mr.
Galev.
And we'll also be hearing from three key government ministers whose portfolio sits at the heart of this transformation.
Mr.
Mikhail Jabarov, Azerbaijan's Minister of Economy.
Mr.
Rashad Nabev, Minister of Digital Development and Transport for Azerijan.
And Mr.
Parviz Sabazv Azerbijan's Minister of Energy.
Of course, we're also very honored to be joined by miss Anna Claudia Rosbck, Executive Director of UN Habitat and United Nations and Under Secretary-General.
Thank you so much.
Just next to the min on the end if that's okay.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much indeed.
To begin proceedings, I'm now going to ask Minister Borov to come and give his opening remarks, Minister.
Madam Executive Director, Excellencies, distinguished colleagues.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor to address this important session of the World Urban Forum dedicating to positioning cities at the center of connectivity, urban reconstruction, and regional cooperation.
Today, cities are no longer only places where people live and work.
Increasingly, they are becoming strategic platforms where diplomacy, trade, infrastructure, technology, climate action, and regional cooperation intersect.
The future of sustainable development will largely depend on how successfully we connect our cities not only physically, but also economically, digitally, institutionally, and socially.
Almost two years ago, as the host of Cop 29, Azerbijan placed urbanization, including cities at the heart of the global climate agenda.
We recognized that cities, while contributing significantly to global emissions are also key drivers of innovation, resilience, and solutions to the climate crisis.
Through these efforts, Azerbijan also managed to build synergies between the COP and the Wolf processes, bringing cities more firmly into the center of multilateral discussions.
Dear colleagues, situated at the crossroads of east and west and north and south, Azerbijan has transformed its geographical position into a strategic advantage.
We increasingly see our role not merely as a transit country, but as a hub for regional integration, sustainable urban development, and interregional cooperation.
Our experience demonstrates that connectivity Infrastructure and urban development are deeply interconnected.
Modern transport corridors influence settlement patterns, industrial development, labor mobility, investment flows, housing demand, and climate resilience.
At the same time, sustainable and well planned cities are essential for ensuring long term economic and social benefits.
It is precisely from this perspective that Azerbijan has embarked on large scale reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts across deliberated territories.
Entire cities, towns and villages are being rebuilt from scratch based on principles of sustainability, smart governance, green energy, climate resilience, and human centered urban planning.
This process goes beyond rebuilding houses and roads.
It is about transforming former conflict zones into centers of economic growth, connectivity, and human development.
At the same time, the large scale reconstruction projects and resettlement in the liberated territories in the immediate aftermath of the conflict is a clear sign of Azerbijan's commitment to peace agenda.
By investing close to $15 billion in the former conflict zone, Azerbijan has also demonstrated this genuine interest in closing the chapter of confronation in the region.
In other words, massive post conflict reconstruction efforts of Azerbijan should also be seen as an integral part of our peace building strategy.
This is the strategy of breaking the cycle of violence and building a better, prosperous future for all.
Following the determined stance and actions of Azerbijan, the South Caucasus is moving from decades of instability toward a genuine opportunity for peace and cooperation.
The end of the longstanding conflict and the full restoration of Azerbian sovereignty and territorial integrity have reshaped regional dynamics, removed a major threat to peace and security, and created new prospects for regional cooperation, trade, connectivity, and economic development.
In this context, the bilateral normalization process a process with Armenia launched by Azerbijan provides a strong foundation for further advancing regional cooperation, trade, and connectivity for the mutual benefit of all countries in the region.
The Washington Peace Summit of eight August 2025, marked with historic outcomes, the Joint Declaration of the leaders of Azerbijan and Armenia, also signed as a witness by President Donald Trump of the United States of America and initialing of the bilateral Azerbijan Armenia Agreement on establishment of peace and interstate relations, establish de facto peace between the two sides and set the stage for subsequent tangible steps in confidence building and economic interaction.
Azerbijan remains committed to advancing this process with patience, responsibility, and a clear focus on achieving full, sustainable and irreversible normalization.
At the same time, Azerbijan's efforts to rebuild and transform the liberated territories into centers of development, prosperity and connectivity continue to face serious man made challenges, most notably the threat posed by land mines.
Land mines remain the greatest obstacle to reconstruction, economic activity, agricultural development, and the safe return and movement of people.
Official estimates indicate the presence of more than 1.5 million land mines and unexploded ordinance in the liberated territories.
Since the end of the conflict, hundreds of civilians and the mining personnel have fallen victim to mine explosions.
Demining therefore remains one of Azerbaijan's highest national priorities and an essential prerequisite for sustainable recovery, long term regional stability and regional connectivity.
Ladies and gentlemen, reconstruction is not only about rebuilding physical infrastructure.
It is also about reconnecting communities and industrial zones, restoring economic opportunities, and creating conditions for long term peace and cooperation.
New transport corridors, railways, highways, energy infrastructure, and digital networks are integrating reconstruction areas into wider regional and international economic systems.
These investments promote mobility, trade, investment, tourism, and job creation, while also strengthening regional interdependence and long term stability.
In this regard, their impact extends well beyond the borders of Azerbijan, enhancing connectivity between Asia and Europe and contributing to broader regional economic growth and cooperation.
Building upon its internationally recognized roles as a key enabler of T Caspian Middle corridor and North South Corridor, Azerbijan consistently promotes multimodal connectivity agenda also as a part of post conflict strategy.
The August 2025 Washington Declaration has set the stage for the Trump route for international peace and prosperity, which will not only ensure unimpeded multimodal connectivity between the main part of Azerbijan and East National region, but will also establish a new strategic connectivity line linking Asia and Europe through railroad, highway, energy pipelines, and electricity and fiber optic cables.
In parallel, The Hodes Augman railway and Turkey's new Karst Digi line will complement the Zangzur corridor, strengthening regional connectivity and enhancing links between Asia and Europe.
Our vision is not limited to conventional transport infrastructure.
We are also developing green energy corridors, renewable electricity transmission systems, energy storage infrastructure, and advanced fiber optic connectivity projects, including the Digital Silkway Initiative aiming to establish Italy communications corridor between Europe and Asia.
I believe that my colleagues, the distinguished ministers responsible for these projects will elaborate further on their details during their respective remarks.
Excellencies.
As we look ahead, I want to underline that Azerbijan remains committed to advancing dialogue, partnerships, and practical cooperation that position cities at the center of sustainable connectivity, economic growth, resilient development, and regional cooperation.
We believe that through stronger cross border cooperation, enabling policy frameworks, and integrated urban planning, cities can become not only engines of trade and growth, but also pathways toward peace, resilience, and shared prosperity.
I thank you for your attention and wish you all successful and constructive deliberations ahead.
Thank you.
Minister, thank you very much indeed.
I'd now like to call to the podium the Executive Director of UN A habitat, Anna Claudia Rosbck.
Excellencies, Ministers, distinguished guests.
Thank you, Minister Birov for sharing the strategic relevance of urban reconstruction and regional connectivity.
Let me begin with a provocation.
We live in an age of extraordinary connectivity, goods across continents in days.
Data moves in milliseconds, entire regions are being reshaped by new transport corridors, energy networks and digital infrastructure, and yet, nearly 2.8 billion people lack access to safe, adequate housing, millions more are displaced by conflict or climate.
The world is more connected than ever and yet too often more unequal than it needs to be.
This is the paradox this session must confront because connectivity with inclusion and wider socioeconomic vision and a wider socioeconomic vision is simply a fast infrastructure that benefits few.
Multimodal corridors do more than move goods and people efficiently.
They restructured the economic geography of entire regions.
The strategic corridors that are being currently developed to connect the African continent to Europe and across Asia are among the most consequential infrastructure investments of our time and a vivid illustration of this dynamic.
As these integrated investments accelerate along the so called middle corridor stretching from China to Central Asia, the Caspian, Azerbijan and onward to Europe, cities positioned along it gain real opportunities to diversify their economies, attracting green industry, advanced logistic services, agri processing and digital enterprise.
Secondary cities become genuine economic actors, not just transit stops.
This is where UN habitats work on urban rural linkages becomes directly relevant.
Connectivity corridors reshape the ties between urban centers and their surrounding territories, the towns, the villages, agricultural zones, and landscapes that form a functional region.
When those linkages are built into planning from the start, Rural communities gain access to markets and services and cities benefit from the food systems, water resources, and labor that sustain them.
The corridor becomes a development spine for an entire territory and not just a transit route.
UN habitats approach to territorial planning starts from this premise.
Sustainable urbanization is inseparable from the vitality of the rural areas that surround and sustain cities.
When we plan cities, we must plan entire territories.
When we invest in transport corridors, we must also invest in the communities along them, their housing, their markets, their services, their land, their livelihoods.
Nowhere is this more urgent than in post conflict reconstruction.
Azerbijan's reconstruction efforts in the Karaba and East Zangzu economic regions is grappling with exactly these challenges at real scale.
What struck me during my visit in October, during the last National Urban Forum is the ambition to integrate housing, public services, digital connectivity, and green energy networks into a coherent territorial vision.
Not to rebuild cities and towns in isolation, but to restore a functioning human geography.
The same ambition must extend beyond reconstruction.
Whether we are speaking of emerging regional corridors, power, or digital networks, the cities and rural communities along these routes must be treated as assets to be invested in, not mere territories to be crossed.
Excellencies, this session convened by Wolf 13th, fantastic host country carries a particular weight.
I look forward with genuine interest to hearing what our panelists will bring to this conversation and above all, to the commitments that will emerge as its outcome.
Thank you very much.
Executive Director, thank you very much, indeed.
We'll now call on Mr.
Anar Gliiev chairman of the State Committee on Urban Planning and architecture to outline his opening remarks.
Excellencies, distinguished guests, esteemed colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.
We're talking a lot about post disaster post conflict recovery.
Its role, Azerbijan' examples were mentioned several times this morning as well.
I will take this opportunity to take you through some details of the post conflict recovery program of Azerbijan implementing.
Since more than five years, Azerbijan has been implementing one of the largest and most comprehensive reconstruction efforts in the region, in the recent history, transforming territories that once suffered devastation into resilient, inclusive, and future oriented urban and rural communities.
For nearly three decades, about 20% of the internationally recognized territory of Azerbijan remained under occupation.
During this period, hundreds of cities, towns, and villages were destroyed.
Critical infrastructure was devastated, cultural heritage sites suffered irreversible damage and more than 1 million Azerbijanis were displaced from their homes.
Since the libération of the territories in 2020, Azerbijan has entered a fundamentally new phase focused on reconstruction, reintegration, and sustainable regional development.
The scale of destruction in the liberated territories was unprecedented.
More than 900 settlements were affected, entire urban system ceased to function.
On the screen, you can see the city of Aghdam once a vibrant regional center became one of the most visible, so certainly not the only examples of devastation in the liberated territories.
From the very beginning, Azerbijan acknowledged that such a large scale recovery process requires strong institutional coordination and strategic governance.
For the reason, a coordination headquarters was established under the leadership of the chief of Presidential administration to oversee all reconstruction and recovery efforts in the liberated territories.
The mechanism brings together all relevant government institutions, ensuring effective interagency cooperation, continuous monitoring, and coordinated implementation of projects on the ground.
Before reconstruction could begin, ensuring safety on the ground became the most urgent national priority.
In this regard, the mining of the territories is a crucial step towards restoring mobility, enabling reconstruction, supporting the safe return of the communities, and creating the foundation for sustainable economic activity.
The liberated territories remain among the most heavily mined contaminated areas in the world.
With more than 900,000 sectors affected by mines and an exploded ordinance.
According to estimates, approximately 1.5 million mines were planned across the region.
Since November 2020, more than 262,000 hectares have been cleared and over 246,000 mines and unexploded weapons have been neutralized through large scale the mining operations.
In parallel with reconstruction efforts, Azerbijan introduced a new governance model for post conflict territories.
Special representatives of Mr.
President were appointed across the liberated territories to ensure effective local coordination and accelerate the implementation of strategic priorities on the ground.
This model created a direct and flexible management mechanism capable of responding quickly to the complex challenges of reconstruction and resettlement.
Today, special representatives coordinate the activities of public institutions, oversee development projects, support entrepreneurship, facilitate construction process, and contribute to the implementation of long term settlement strategies.
An integrated institutional framework became one of the defining features of Azerbgenic construction strategy.
In addition to its traditional special planning responsibilities, the State Committee on urban planning and architecture was entrusted with broader regulatory and implementation functions within the liberated territories.
This approach allowed planning and allocation of permitting procedures and construction oversight to operate with the unified governance system.
The Great Return State Program represents the central strategic framework guiding reconstruction and resettlement efforts in the liberated territories.
Approved in 2022, the program provides a comprehensive roadmap for rebuilding cities and villages, restoring infrastructure, creating employment opportunities, and establishing sustainable living conditions for returning communities.
To ensure that reconstruction follows a coherent and future oriented vision, we developed a comprehensive general plan for the liberated territories.
Approved in 2022, the plan serves as a principal special and strategic framework, guiding development across two of economic regions of Azerbijan, Karabakh, and Eastern Gaza.
This document integrates urban planning, infrastructure, environmental management, resource allocation, energy systems, industrial development, and demographic forecasting into a single coordinated development framework.
The liberated territories cover approximately 13,600 square kilometers and includes 12 cities as well as nearly 300 villages and settlements with the projected population of around 1.1 million people.
The general plan therefore established a coordinated framework linking urban development, transport infrastructure, economic activity, environmental systems, and rural settlements across Karabakh and Istan Azur.
The development of modern transport infrastructure is one of the key priorities of the reconstruction process.
Currently, road projects covering more than 3.800 kilometers are being implemented across the liberated territories, together with 48 tunnels, 500 bridges, and 16 viaducts.
In parallel, two new railway lines with a total length exceeding 150 kilometers and three international airports are strengthening regional and international connectivity.
The liberated territories have been designated as a green energy zone, reflecting Azerbj's commitment to sustainable development and climate consensus reconstruction.
The regional processes process significant renewable energy potential, particularly in hydropower, solar and wind energy.
Overall potential of the region is estimated as 10 gigawatts.
Hydroelectric power plants with combined capacity exceeding 300 megawatts are already operating while three solar power plants with total capacity of 340 megawatts are under construction.
Efficient water management plays a strategic role in supporting sustainable regional development and national water security.
The strategic plan includes nine water reservoirs with a total capacity exceeding 860 million cubic meters, creating significant opportunities for agricultural development and irrigation.
These resources are expected to support water supply for more than 600,000 hectares of cultivated land across the country.
Economic revitalization is an essential component of the construction process.
Two industrial parks with total area of 400 hectars have already been established in Akdam and Jabrail.
Today, more than 50 residence companies are operating or implementing projects within these zones with total investment exceeding $282 million.
Local economy on the liberated areas is currently focused on construction, materials, manufacturing, food production, logistic, tourism, retail and commercial development, while also creating thousands of new employment opportunities.
Restoration of cultural heritage is an important part of the reconstruction agenda.
More than 750 registered historical and cultural monuments are located within the liberated territories, many of which suffered serious damage over the past decades.
To date, more than 20 monuments have already been restored, while new memorial complexes, museums, and cultural institutions are currently being designed and developed.
Urban planning plays a central role in shaping the future development of the liberated territories.
Master plans for eight cities have already been approved, while the plans for four additional cities are currently being finalized.
The total planned area Total planned urban area of the liberated territories exists 10,000 hectas with the project population exceeding 354,000 people by 2040.
The planning approach for the liberated cities is based on long term phased and integrated development principles.
An example of Akdaam master plan, you can see that each master plan is designed with a 20 year development perspective and incorporates population growth forecast, density strategies, mobility systems, workplace distribution, and linked green infrastructure.
Akdam is being redeveloped as one of the principal economic and urban centers of the liberated territories.
According to the master plan, the city is designated for a population of 100,000 people and covers an area of nearly 2000 hectas.
The development framework includes more than 3 million square meters of residential floor area.
A 200 hectare industrial park integrated within the city structure further strengthens Akdm's role as a future regional economic hub.
The master plan of Akdam is based on the creation of a modern, well connected and people oriented urban environment.
In the first phase of development, five residential neighborhoods have been designed and three of them are under construction.
Almost 6,000 apartments in these residential complexes will solve housing problem of more than 22,000 people affected by the conflict.
Implementation of the Agda Master Plan is already actively underway.
The first completed residential neighborhood includes more than 1,200 apartments designed to support the return of former residents and create modern living conditions within the city.
At the same time, strategic infrastructure projects such as the railway and transport Hub are strengthening regional connectivity and supporting future economic activity.
New Mugam Center is dedicated to Azerbijani National Musical Genre, which is very deeply linked with the Karabakh region.
Secondary school for 960 students is on site to give quality education to cities young generation.
New hotels are contributing to the development of tourism and business activity within the region.
Historical landmark, 18th century IRad Complex was carefully restored as part of broader cultural preservation efforts.
Embraced by greenery, City of Zangan is being developed as a park city, model focused on environmental sustainability and high quality urban living.
The city is planned for population of 16,000 people and covers an area of more than 333 hectres including over 70 hectres of public parks and green spaces integrated in the urban structure.
The master plan of Zangan is designed around compact development patterns, connected neighborhoods, and extensive green infrastructure.
Residential zones, administrative functions, and public spaces are organized to create a balanced and accessible urban environment that supports community interaction and sustainable mobility.
Zhangilan is already delivering new residential and social infrastructure.
The first residential neighborhood, including 104 apartments, has already welcomed its residents.
The neighborhood alongside the nearby school prioritize accessibility and community oriented urban environments.
New public, religious and cultural facilities are also being developed in Zangilan.
Angean Congress Center is intended to support business activity, public events, and regional cooperation initiatives.
This venue already hosted National Urban Forum of Azerbijan as well as several other international events.
Construction of a new mosque alongside restoration of the historical one reflects the importance placed on cultural continuity and community identity within the reconstruction process.
Sussia occupies a special place within Azerbijan's historical culture and urban heritage.
The city is planned for a population of 25,000 people and covers an area of nearly 390 hectars including dedicated tourism and cultural development zones.
As the cultural capital of Azerbijan, Susi is being restored with particular attention to historical preservation.
Tourism development and the revitalization of cultural life.
The urban development strategy for Sushi is based on respecting the city's historical urban structure and introducing modern public, business and residential zones.
Key projects include the revitalization of the historical High Street, the development of Victory Museum, and construction of modern residential neighborhoods integrated into existing urban landscape.
Implemented projects in Sushi already include new residential development.
The first residential neighborhood consisting of 450 apartments has been completed and accommodated more than 1,400 people.
At the same time, restoration works have been completed at important historical sites, including the Yuharigo Fara Mosque, Nerous hospitality facilities such as the five star Susa Hotel contribute to the development of tourism infrastructure.
Our next city, Kalajar is being developed as a wellness and eco tourism destination based on its rich natural resources, mountainous landscapes, and recreational potential.
The city is planned for population of 17,000 people and covers an area of more than 290 hectors, including dedicated tourism and healthcare development zones.
The master plan provides health care and wellness facilities with projected capacity exceeding 300 beds.
The city is situated on plateau, on the altitude more than 1,500 meters.
The urban development concept for Cal Baja focused on the integration of natural landscapes, tourism infrastructure, and high quality public spaces.
Public spaces and community oriented infrastructure are key components of Kalba jar's development.
Projects such as the city Park and the administrative complex are intended to strengthen social interaction and improve the quality of urban life.
The implementation phase of Kalba jar has already begun with the development of the first residential neighborhood.
It's the first project which introduced architectural style that will set the tone for new image of the city.
The buildings style is the educational complex in K Bajar.
It will have preschool, secondary school, and vocational school facilities in the heart of the city.
Apart from being new landmark of the city, this project is the important investment in the future of the city.
The reconstruction of rural areas is being implemented through the cluster based planning approach introduced within the general plan framework.
Under this model, nearly 900 villages are being reorganized into approximately 300 modern rural settlements, supported by integrated infrastructure, efficient land use, and improved public services.
To date, master plans for 101 rural settlements have already been approved, covering a total area of more than 14,000 hectares and projected population exceeding 180,000 people.
Rural reconstruction is designed around the creation of modern sustainable and well connected living environments adapted to local geographic and social conditions.
Each settlement follows an individual architecture and special concept, reflecting its landscape historical context and long term development potential.
The broader objective is to create sustainable rural settlements well linked with agricultural activities and capable of demonstrating long term growth.
Rural reconstruction are already delivering tangible results across the liberated territories.
To date, more than 4,700 houses have been delivered in 330 villages and three towns supporting the gradual return of residential residents to rural areas.
Apart from housing, every village project includes education, healthcare, and administrative building, new road network, full range of communications, including broadband Internet connection.
Nearly 20,000 people are currently living in rural areas of the liberated territories.
Construction activities are ongoing in more than 40 villages, reflecting the scale and continuity of the reconstruction process.
Hundreds of new houses are currently under construction as part of ongoing resettlement and infrastructure programs.
More than 85,000 people are currently living, working, and studying in ten cities, three towns, and 30 villages throughout the Kaag ands and Azur.
Over 15,040 housing units have received reconstruction permits while more than 30 schools and preschool institutions are already operating in the region within over 4,000 children involved in the educational process.
More than 2000 hundred students are currently studying at Karabakh University in Hang Kani city.
Modern healthcare facilities are under construction.
So far, permits have been issued for 3 million square meters for construction.
More than 40% of road projects and more than 70% of railway projects are already completed while all three international airports are fully operational.
Distinguished colleagues, the reconstruction of the liberated territories represents not only large scale national recovery effort, but also an opportunity to introduce new approaches to sustainable urban and regional development.
Urban planners and architects from 12 different countries across the globe has participated in the process so far.
Through integrated planning, modern infrastructure, environmental responsibility, and human centered development, Azerbijan is working to create resilient, connected, and future oriented communities across Karabakh and Islan Azur.
We highly value international dialogue, cooperation, and the exchange of experience within the platforms such as the World Urban Forum, which play an important role in shaping more sustainable and inclusive cities worldwide.
Thank you for your attention.
Mr.
Chairman, thank you very much indeed for that comprehensive presentation.
Now, to expound on how connectivity drives investment and growth, I'd like to invite to the podium Mr.
Mikhail Jabarv Azerbijan's Minister of Economy.
Honorable Madam Executive Director, distinguished colleague ministers, mayors, ladies and gentlemen, it's a great pleasure and honor to address this special session of cities at the heart of connectivity, Urban Reconstruction and regional cooperation hosted by government of Azerbaijan within the framework of the World Urban Forum.
I do believe that the theme of today's session is highly relevant for Azerbijan and particularly its capital, Baku, which city which stood and continues to stand at the crossroads of civilizations, trade routes, and cultures.
I will try to structure my remarks focusing on and then of course, connecting the five main topics I'd like to address.
I will speak about largest metropolitan area and of course, largest economic actor in this country, which is Baku and Sungai.
I will touch upon liberated territories.
Then I will speak about other parts of Azerbijan um, role of governments and cities, which in my opinion, shall not be overlooked.
We shouldn't just talk about hard, but also think about soft side of implementing.
Last but not the least, what are the challenges ahead and what are the ways to connect them.
Madam Executive Director did touch upon, I think, very important topic and the topic being what we do speaking of economy on economic development side of the cities, how do we link connectivity to the ultimate goal and this is a well being of people.
In case of Azerbijan, I think for the context, this is a country which had a journey from 49% poverty rate to 5% poverty rate in less than 20 years, a country which in the meantime did address and resolve the most protracted and complicated.
Territorial conflict within our broader region and the country as his Excellency President Aliyev was speaking about yesterday and as Minister Bamav did today, is actively engaged in rebuilding the new peace architecture in the region of Southern Caucasus and broader.
And I do think that in fact the ultimate measure of success of any government's policy, but also for any city is the quality of life of its residents of the citizens of the nation.
In case of Azerbijan, we obviously have Baku and Sumaid area.
These used to be and still are administratively two different cities.
But when we look at the economic analysis and connectivity, really, uh, had and continues to play a huge role here.
This is the single largest economic uh, area of Azerbijan with a significant share of gross domestic product, um, employment, uh, um, urban, uh, planning and architecture, masterpieces.
Uh, there were specific references made by his Excellency President to projects like Sebries which represents, sort of, uh, suburb slash new city type of development, city in the city concept of white city, which, uh, presents a new way, uh, how we look at urban planning and architecture, but also projects in the pipeline, and I think most notable among ones that I will refer to is, uh, uh um, similar city the concept that is being embarked upon with investors from the Middle East as we speak.
Clearly, economic ecosystem of the cities, and I take Baku as an example, for the cities which have a population over 1 million people and in our case, we're talking roughly in the vicinity of 3 million people, which makes up for the roughly 30% of population of Azerbijan Clearly, the polycentric city approach that have been taken in the master plan of our capital does lead to the interrelated issues of the uh, quality of life, quality of jobs, importance of the connectivity, uh, common areas, and how uh, can we capitalize and translate this into sustainable economic growth.
Being the city within 2 hours flight, which is not only the largest in terms of the size, but also with respect to the quality of infrastructure, economic opportunities, again, touristic but also residential experience.
Just like in the past, also for future, we do connect a significant part of economic development vision, to mix of homegrown talent and attracted talent.
This is especially important and more relevant not only in the context of geopolitical, let's say, challenges that the world, but specifically region is faced with, but also not less importantly in the new economy that is driven by digital solutions, by increased mobility.
Uh, where we continue to discuss friend shoring and near shoring versus globalization or home based security based models.
I think the choice that we're making in our economic policies is very clear and this is the one that is built on the harmony and combination of the local talent and attracted talent.
We do try to follow this up in our economic policies, which include but are not limited, to infrastructural and legislative framework decision such as a free economic zone adjacent to international Ali port.
And we do believe with new city development around it, but also with respect to the implementation and with respect to focusing on what we consider to be traditional strength.
Clearly, the um services sector, which does represent an important part of any city economy, same is true for Baku, calendar of events, entertainment, exhibitions, conferences, your daily life experience.
These are the factors on which we do consider the strength of the economic, proposition relies.
My colleagues have spoken in details about liberated territories.
Maybe a couple of sentences that I would like to say.
The key word will be sustainability.
President yesterday spoke very openly.
He said, We not only have been making successes, we also have had our mistakes.
But we did try to learn on our mistakes and one of them was relating to how do we plan from economic viewpoint, the great return.
The key question, of course, was related to the sequence of jobs, to the sequence of economic activity, and necessity to enable speediest return of returnees, people who have been away from their homes and villages for decades, for that purpose for each city within liberated areas and the niche approach has been taken to ensure that from the very beginning the relevant government policies are aimed at supporting those type of economic activities for which we believe there was a higher economic chance of success.
Of course, the key challenge was to ensure that the uh, these works are not only done in parallel, but they're also done fast.
The whole set of legislative measures aimed at the promotion of economic activity, including but not limited to tax exemptions, preferential loans, setting up of the industrial parks was put in place.
What was in the center connectivity.
I'm sure my colleague Minister of Transport, will address it in further details, but ensuring that the access, be it three airports, be it roads, bridges, but also digital connectivity is there and in a way, it is waiting for people to return and not the other way around was one of the solutions to unlock the speed element and quality element of the return.
Well, I wouldn't want to omit the focus on the role which connectivity plays also for the rest of the country because, of course, if we look at current dynamics, we have more people living in the areas outside of Baku and Songa liberated plus liberated areas than within them.
And that does explain why Azerbijan had a natural immunity in a way, because if you look at the map, country is landlocked, we do realize that whenever we carry out our economic policies.
Therefore, the notion of investing interconnectivity is not limited within our borders.
We did never shied away from ensuring that connectivity, also to the world markets as implemented as demonstrated by a number of projects.
The same view, of course, was within a country, and the focus was on ensuring that the modern infrastructure for roads railways.
But again, I'm going back to soft infrastructure and connectivity as well was ensured.
That did enable us to ensure that we combine the traditional strong sides of the city's economies, but also come up with some of the new ideas, something which we have not done before.
If we go back to the example of liberated territories, idea of university city or university based city for Karabakh universities in Hang Gandhi, was the first in modern history of Azerbijan when a belief that the economic activity may and can be built around academic activity.
For different cities in Azerbijan, for Ganja, for Najewan for Shake, similarly, we try an approach of identifying where the traditional strength of the know how and human capital lies and how this can be reinforced in current economical conditions.
I guess this leads me to my fourth point, which is what should be or what is role of the central governments and what is the role of the cities in this to play? Is it sufficient to limit one's role to strategy and planning? Can you really stop and strategy and planning and not to go for implementation If you do go for implementation, where do you stop? How do you ensure that the economic actors who are dealing with implementation are having a fair play within the economic competition? I do think that these are the moments and elements which are relevant not only for city planners, but also for city managers.
And of course, this is the field, and this is the area where a permanent exchange of experience is extremely important and limited and extremely important and necessary.
Again, going back to decisions which are taken with Azerbijan, we have started our ceremony with signing between Shay and Trap zone.
We do have Institute of Special Representative of the President and we do have a Institute of head of the Executive power.
In fact, these are two parallel type of institutions, which do have a different economic function to play, and this is one of the ways how the question that I posed is being addressed to enable real life test of the models that are being implemented.
My last point, as I mentioned, is more Forward oriented, and I would allow myself to formulate it in a way, what does it take or what shall it take to get us to success.
I do believe strongly that in case of Azerbijan, this was whatever achievements were possible were possible because of combination of high level vision, quality and continued focus and improvement of human capital, and last but certainly not the least in continuous capacity building because really the uncertainty continues to increase and the more quality based decentralization, the faster quality of the decisions to be taken on the ground.
By the way, every time when I use the word faster or slower to us, it does represent an element of connectivity as well.
And because the speed of decision making and quality of decision making is directly relevant to the quality of the decision making infrastructure that is being put in place.
With this, I once again would like to thank you all for your attention and wish you to guests of Azerbaijan very enjoyable and productive stay in our country.
Thank you.
Minister, thank you very much indeed.
Our next speaker will explore how investments in transport corridors, smart mobility, digital infrastructure, and urban planning are shaping connectivity and quality of life.
Please welcome to the podium, Mr.
Rashad, Nabf Minister of Digital Development and Transport.
Honorable ministers, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, it's also my pleasure to be here today and let me start with a statement that for us actually transport corridors are another line on the map.
It's much bigger than that.
It's a decision about how the people will be living in the next few decades, maybe even centuries.
Every kiloetre of rail, every meter of road that we build today are choices about how are we going to shape our future as well.
By shaping our future also mean not only the societies, but also the ways we will be thinking, the way we will be delivering and the way we will be building up our economic activity.
We see connectivity as an investment in human potential definitely, and it's not a surprise that Azerbijan now sits at the crossroads of Eurasia.
Since 2021, under the leadership of His Excellency, we have been able to make sure that all the transits which had an opportunity to bypass us didn't pass us.
Now we have seen almost two fold increase in the transit and last year, we witnessed around 17 million of tons moving throughout territory.
The Boko railways connects now middle corridor, Central Asia and the trains leaving China can reach now the border of Turkey only within a matter of 15 to 18 days.
But corridors alone, from our standpoint, not the whole story, the new logistic hubs, for economic zones, and urban centers are taking shape around them.
So the question becomes what kind of cities grown along the corridors and how we are shaping these cities.
Once again, under the leadership of His Excellency, when we started the transformation of the city Baks urban mobility and as well as the public transportation.
We didn't start with the projects.
We actually put in front of us what are the goals of ours and how are we going to reach our goals and that actually shaped everything else that I'm going to talk about.
We set out that there should be a shift of our citizens from private cars and taxes toward public transport.
We were very much criticized for that.
At the time, there used to be around 67,000 of taxes on the streets and everyone was complaining about the quality, but at the same time, everyone was thinking about the social aspects of the story.
But when we started, we had a clear evidence that if we change this, the roads will be much, much freer.
Today we have only 20,000 of taxes on the roads and there is no social issue at the moment just because we thought in a very so way that The taxi drivers at the time, they used to work up to 24 hours sometimes, which put our passengers in the danger.
But today, their working hours are very much normalized and they only work about 8 hours.
Basically, if you take the number 67,020 thousand, we actually didn't change the job places.
The job places remained, but the quality of the services changed.
To give our transformation, we also thought about the micro mobility and to give the micro mobility the meaning, we gave the bicycles, scooters, and more importantly, our pedestrians more opportunity to expand their activities.
We also thought how it's going to impact the quality of our environmental matters.
We also thought about how it's going to affect the C two emissions.
I will later on to just talk about a little bit about the results and I will mention how we have been managed to answer and to address this question.
To move from a single city center, we also saw about how we can make city of Baku polycentric.
My dear colleague Anar Guiev has already answered this.
It's about the polycentric city, basically meaning that everyone has an opportunity now to reach the school, places of interest, cultural places, healthcare places, offices within this short period of time.
Are we there yet? No.
There are a couple of answer to that was mentioned by His Excellency, cities like White City and Cipris are great examples of Baku being polycentric.
One of the most important things that there used to be always some beliefs in the society that we have to build more roads.
But world experience has shown to everyone and each of us that building more roads doesn't mean that we will be addressing the congestion on the streets.
Basically, it didn't mean that we didn't think of the building the roads.
We also thought about the building the roads, but we thought of the roads and the whole system in a very holistic ways.
Basically, roads should be feeding the bus networks, bus should be feeding the rails and rails should be fitting the metro.
Each trailer, from our perspective, should be reinforcing the next layer.
And by doing that, we will have more holistic approach to the city's urban mobility.
Today, when we sit down to decide where to spend the next dollar, we ask one question.
What's the return on investment, which is from our perspective, is very much measured in the minutes.
What I mean by the minutes it's how many less minutes our citizen spends on the city while driving to the school, while going to the healthcare centers, or even going to his job places.
So we actually changed in our decision making process, the perception of $1 making sense return on investment to the $1 being equal to minutes of the personal life.
So in the center of every decisions that we have made so far in the last four years, Azerbage citizen has been the main and important anchor.
To reach a destination, you must first know where you are standing.
From our point, if you want to move or go and travel to any city, what you usually do you put the city on the GPS, but you also have to know where you are.
In other words, you have to measure where you stand today in order all your actions to be manageable and measurable and have specific KPIs.
Because we also acknowledge the fact that from the beginning there will be many mistakes which we have also made by the way, in the last four years.
But the stores should be very much measurable and in order to go back and know what should be changed, what should be delivered in a different way, In order to do that, we came up with our colleagues from BCG Boston Consultancy Group.
I see some of them here and I really thank them for being with us in this journey.
We came up with an idea of building the Baku Cities digital twin.
I mean, maybe in some other societies, it would have not been that much possible without going to the personal details of our citizens.
We have managed to build the lake consisting of 10 billion unique data.
We collected the data from mobile operators, we collected the data from the utility companies, we collected the data from the ways, we collected the data from the monitors of our civilians, from our Ministry of Internal Affairs.
We also went beyond that.
We also made a lot of surveys about the pattern of our passengers and our citizens, how they travel and what their preferences are.
And as of today, we have a very unique tool, which I will dare to say that not every country, even not every city has.
And this kind of tool allows us to make the decision while building and where to build the stoplight and where to build the additional bus lane or where to build the bicycle lane and knowing and forecasting how it's going to affect not the perimeter of that specific area, but also how it's going to affect the outskirts of the city of Baku.
Yeah.
You can actually ask, what are the results we have been able to achieve as of today.
When we started, there used to be 2 billion unique travelers from point A to point B within the city of Baku.
Unfortunately, for us, the number of travels taking place by cars and taxis used to be around 50% of all the travels.
But by now we have managed to bring it nearly to 40% and our goal by the end of the 2030 to bring it to 30%.
When we started, we thought that it's very much ambitious, but as we move forward, as we start implementing these projects, this number seems very much feasible to us.
When it comes to number of the deaths on the streets, when we started the project back in 2023, numbers of deaths on the streets used to be around nine per 100,000 inhabitants and we have managed to bring it nearly to seven as of today.
That's not the limit.
We are aiming to reach number four by the end of 2030 and maybe by the year 2040, if we do everything in a proper way in a very synchronized way with our fellow ministries and colleagues, we might be reaching around two, which is a number of very advanced countries.
And talking about all of this, our single ambition was to make the Baku the city of 20 minutes, as I mentioned earlier, to reach every single point within 20 minutes.
As of today, for those of you who has a travel challenges almost every day might be seeming not that much feasible, but we do believe in this story.
We do believe and we are moving to that end.
How are we going to deliver this, it's going to be around 10 billion USD investment between now and the year 2030.
We will be building additional ten metro stations.
If you take into account that as of today, we have only 26, that's actually more or less 50% increase in the number of the metro stations.
We used to have when we started the project, around 1,700 buses on the streets, but as of today, we have 2350.
But the number we are aiming to reach around 3,000 by the year 2030, and we are not far away from that.
One of the important points, I want to mention that it's not only done by the public investment.
We're also attracting private investment as well.
If you look into the split of the market share between the public bus companies and also private bus companies, it's more or less 50 to 50.
That's, by the way, one of the biggest challenges in our neighboring countries and when we exchange our expertise and experience, they always blame that they made a big mistake by not allowing the private sector into the market.
I think it was a great and wise decision at the time to be taking several decades ago when we gained our independence to allow the private sectors to enter the market.
By doing that, now we have an instrument to make sure that we're the comparative advantage and also cost efficiency between the private and public investment.
More than that, we're moving to the scheme which will be introduced by the end of this year where for us as a regulator, it wouldn't really matter who carries our passengers.
There will be a system where every passenger will be subsidized by kilometers run by the buses.
That's what we call the brutal system and it's not far away to be accepted.
A And as you can see from my title, I'm also the minister responsible for digital development for innovation.
I work across these two responsibilities and trying actually.
I'm doing my best in a very synchronized way and innovation ecosystem today not built on how much tax intense incentives you introduce in your country, how good your custom system.
It's built from the talent.
As my honorable colleague, Mr.
Jabarro has already mentioned.
Talent is today is very much mobile in a way that engineers, founders of startups, researchers, designers, they live almost everywhere.
As we have seen from the example of Dubai and any other country which is not far away from us, we see that they really appreciate the quality of the life.
By quality of the life, if I go back to the metrics which I've already mentioned, C two emission, number of the deaths on the streets, how fast and easily you can reach your job places, how fast you can reach the places of interest.
Those are biggest components of the quality of their life.
They choose increasingly livable cities and the things which I've mentioned are important parts of being livable.
From our perspective, in order to build the innovation ecosystem, to make sure that this talent is attracted to our city, to our country, we should be working in a way to address these matters in a very holistic way and alongside definitely introducing all the tax incentives and everything else and our recent interactions, it's not a secret with the companies who are thinking about leaving our immediate region and specifically Gulf region in the recent few weeks.
The one thing which we mentioned before making the decision to move their offices to anywhere around the world.
It's definitely once again about the quality of the life in that or other city.
Once again, I want to assure everyone sitting in this room and as well as our partners who might be thinking of moving to Baku that we do have a holistic plan and we do have a vision how Baku will be most livable city and friendly city not only in our region, but on the planet.
Thank you.
Minister, thank you very much, indeed.
Of course, underpinning all of this is green energy and energy security to help shape these modern urban systems that we're discussing.
To talk on that subject, I'm delighted now to welcome to the podium, Mr.
Pavez Shabazof Azerbijan's Minister of Energy.
Dear colleagues, ministers, excellences, distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, it's my great pleasure to greet you all at this important session organized within the framework of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum in Baku.
Azerbijan's hosting of another major global platform following Cop 29 once again demonstrates that our country has become an active participant, not only in the global energy security agenda, but also with regard to sustainable urbanization, green transition, and regional connectivity.
Connectivity holds special strategic significance in the evolving geopolitical and geoeconomic landscape.
Energy lines, transport corridors, fiber optic cables, and electricity interconnectors are becoming the new arteries of the global system.
As international experts also emphasize, the 21st century has already become the century of connectivity.
Connectivity today means not only infrastructure and trade, but also resilience, stability, and stronger regional cooperation.
Located at the crossroads of east and west and north and south, Azerbijan is evolving into one of Eurasia's main hubs of connectivity and cooperation under the visionary policy of the President of Azerbijan, His Excellency, Mr.
Hamliv, whose strategic approach brings together energy security, green development, regional integration, and peace building.
Having identified clean environment and green growth as one of the key priorities of its socioeconomic development strategy, Azerbijan pursues an energy policy in close alignment with urbanization and regional integration at a time when the electrification of transport, data centers, artificial intelligence, and the digital economy's rapidly increasing urban energy demand.
Currently, projects aimed at developing approximately 8 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity are under implementation in Azerbijan and around 2 gigawatts of this capacity will be integrated into the national energy system by next year.
This is not only an expansion of power generation, it represents a new industrial transformation and an annual reduction of 2.4 million tons of emissions.
Furthermore, Azerbijan has established institutional mechanisms in the field of energy efficiency.
One of the core principles of modern urban governance, including the creating of an energy efficiency fund.
Such measures contribute to reducing energy consumption and losses, improving the efficient management of resources and developing smart urban infrastructures.
We pursue the dual objective of expanding investment in flows and delivering tangible, measurable outcomes in the field of energy efficiency.
The cities of the future will create more value with less energy due mainly to energy efficiency and green technologies.
The reconstruction in the liberated territories is a clear example of this approach.
There we are not merely restoring infrastructure, we are building the cities of the future.
In these territories, smart cities, smart villages, green energy zones, energy efficient infrastructure, and digital governance systems are being implemented as a unified concept.
President Ilham Aliyev Declaration of Karaba and East Zang Azur as a green energy zone with a 2050 net zero target is a manifestation of precisely this strategic vision.
In these territories, 38 hydropower plants with a total capacity of 307 megawatts are currently in operation.
Solar power plants with a capacity of 340 megawatts are under construction.
Rooftop solar panels with a capacity of 7,000 kilowatt have been installed and assessment works are underway for the construction of a 240 megawatt wind power plant.
By 2030, the planned deployment of 1,650 megawatts of renewable energy capacity is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 2 million tons annually.
The green energy zone concept being proven in the liberated territories is already expanding into the Nkiwan region of Azerbijan.
Today, it is becoming increasingly clear that the cities of the future will not be defined by the heights of their buildings, but by the strength of their connections, and at the heart of these connections lies energy.
Positioned at the crossroads of Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East, Azerbijan plays a key role in building this future by becoming a strategic hub for regional energy and green electricity connectivity.
This role is further strengthened by the development of the middle corridor and the Zangzur corridor, which is to become one of the key segments of the former.
Azerbijan's green energy connectivity initiatives integrating Central Asia, the South Caucasus, Turkey, and Europe are laying the foundations of a new energy cooperation architecture.
Through their vi fiber optic components, these projects will also ensure digital connectivity across a wide region.
Today, successful cities are no longer defined by size alone.
They are defined by resilience, innovation, sustainability, and integration.
Azerbijan is proud to contribute to building such cities and to advancing partnerships that will connect and strengthen them across our region and beyond.
Thank you very much and I wish successful session and meaningful exchanges during this conference.
Thank you.
Minister, thank you very much indeed.
Before we move on to the next section of the event, Excellency's ministers, I'd like to pass on my thanks for your insightful and detailed presentations.
Could you all please show your appreciation for our leaders up here today.
Thank you very much, indeed.
We're going to take a very short two minute break now and we'll get set up for a fascinating discussion just 2 minutes time.
By the way, is anybody else a bit warm? It's quite hot, isn't it? Can we do what we can to get a bit of a through draft going through so people don't collapse? Thank you very much.
To find a polite way to see if I could encourage you not to leave just yet.
So if I could, in my slightly passive aggressive British way, try and ask you not to leave just yet, that will be very, very helpful.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
I let's get going.
Don't worry.
Don't worry.
Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to get ready for our second session, which is going to begin in about one minute's time.
Thank you all very much indeed for your patience.
I know it's a bit warm in here.
Hopefully now there are less people here, it will be a bit cooler.
We've got a fascinating couple of presentations for you.
We're very grateful indeed to all of our leaders for setting out the vision that they did so elegantly just a few moments ago.
We're now going to delve into more of the detail about how that vision is being brought to life and particularly working in concert with international partners.
We've got two very distinguished executives who I'm delighted to introduce you to.
I'll call you up to the stage individually.
The first, Mr.
Nigel Dancy, Senior Executive partner at Foster and Partners.
And also, Mr.
Philippe Cornett De Sancer, managing Director and partner of Global Leader of Cities Real Estate and Travel at Boston Consulting Group.
Gentlemen, welcome.
Thank you very much for joining us.
Now, both of you have got very interesting presentations, so I propose that we crack straight on with both of those.
Mr.
Cornett DeSana, your presentation is about the rejuvenation of connected cities, urban regeneration for regional growth.
I'll invite you to take a step up and, thank you.
All right.
Thank you so much.
It is a true privilege to be here today to talk about this very important topic of urban reconstruction and rejuvenation.
It's our pleasure really to be hosted by the World Urban Forum and the government of Azerbijan here in Baku.
Um we have heard from excellencies earlier today, reconstruction is a very challenging, complex, multifaceted undertaking, and we see that the development in Kaba is really a leading example of such an undertaking.
In this context, we'd like to share a few thoughts on how to approach such endeavors.
First of all, unfortunately, we realize that reconstruction is not anymore a niche topic.
Distress events are multiplying globally.
They drive destruction, economic downturn, depopulation.
And in that context, we'd like to address three questions.
First of all, we have analyzed large regeneration efforts comparable in scale to Cab.
From that, we have derived five strategic choices, trade offs that all combine help in addressing such challenges.
Then I'd like to draw the lessons learned from bringing these points together.
We have analyzed five recent cases.
Addressing context of conflict, of natural disasters, of worsening climate conditions, spanning different geographies, of course, looking at the very ambitious reconstruction in Karaba and Azerbaijan, but also the post conflict reconstruction in Bosnia and Kevinnaan, the post Hurricane reconstruction in New Orleans, the post earthquake reconstruction in Turoky and also the flood in Southern Pakistan, all of them of very large scale in terms of initial impact and in terms of challenge of reconstruction.
The way we approach the topic is we see five key strategic choices, five trade offs.
I have to say up front, there's no obvious answer.
There's no right or wrong in any of the choices.
It's really a balancing act.
It's really about finding the right place to position the cursor in all of these five questions and how also to combine them in a coherent, consistent approach.
The first one is infrastructure or economy.
Do we focus very heavily on rebuilding the demolished infrastructure? Do we lead by economic development, economic revival? The second one that's also linked to this topic of infrastructure is the economy is the degree of integration of the region to be redeveloped, reconstructed with the surrounding, with the border country, with a broader region.
The third one is equity versus efficiency.
Do we want to give everyone every area the same level of effort of attention? Do we want to privilege, prioritize efficiency overall impact? The reality is that both can be also combined.
When we come to the economic development, also the big question is, is it a return or reconstruction of what was also an opportunity to reinvent the economy of the region? Then, of course, we've heard earlier incentives are key to drive the economic development, to attract the private sector.
There's always this question of how to incentivize, what to incentivize on.
Here as well, there's a real trade off for governments and regions.
If we go to the first one, we represent it in two dimensions, which is how much effort is put in redeveloping the infrastructure, how much effort is put in redeveloping the economy.
It is true that the first reaction of major redevelopments is to redevelop the infrastructure.
It is critical, it is necessary, we cannot do without.
It is not sufficient.
What we observe is leading regeneration efforts put a very strong emphasis as well on economic development, on attracting jobs, on attracting companies that are also able to retract, bring back the populations sustainably in the areas of redevelopment.
Very often, we see that it's also starting with attracting SMs, rebuilding that network of companies, that economic fabric.
The example of Turkey is a very successful example actually that has been able to really combine both this infrastructure development and this economic focus in a very integrated recovery.
We see also and we have heard earlier today that CBA is putting a very strong emphasis today on the economic redevelopment after having put a lot of emphasis on infrastructure.
The second dimension is the level of integration.
We see three models.
We observe three models.
The first model is developing standalone economies.
In the economic development, focusing on what serves the very local region, the very local population, very strong focus on local clusters, limited focus on trade.
The other extreme is we see some models that are very much focused on the integration, the connectivity with the rest of the country, with the neighboring regions, focusing on trade corridors, focusing on export clusters, and on this regional connectivity.
What we see as really the sweet spot is being able to combine both, both serving the local needs, the local population, but at the same time, having sectors and clusters of activities that privilege that develop the connectivity, the trade.
We see that typically with a focus on two, three anchor industries that are both leveraging the local competitiveness, the local advantages, and triggering trade and connectivity.
The third element is a complex one and a difficult one in government policies, is the balance between equity and efficiency.
Again, we observe three models with one that has, I would say, probably our preference.
The first one is equity, which is distributing the resources in multiple areas equally with the goal of making sure that everybody, every region, every village, every city benefits from the reconstruction efforts in the same way.
The challenge of such an approach is to be very scattered and very often not to have the critical mass to drive a strong impact.
You're too dispersed and the generation takes a lot of time, ends up being very slow.
The second approach is to be concentrated, focused on efficiency, being focused on a few nodes where all the efforts are directed in terms of infrastructure, in terms of economic development, and the benefit of this model is actually that you create spillover effects.
Creating these hubs generalize indirect induced economic activity and redevelopment.
And we have not seen so often a bit of a hybrid approach, which is bringing both which is really to tier or cluster the different zones and to identify high priority zones where government efforts are very focused because this is where you get the best return on your investment, government investment on infrastructure development, on economic development overall on reconstruction.
The second layer is identify where you can really actively be an enabler for the private sector to come in and think of PPPs for the restoration, where you leverage government intervention to trigger private sector participation.
The third layer, the third area is where you are a bit more reactive.
You're trying to enable the local communities to drive the development.
We see a real value in having that tiered approach that brings together both a notion of equity because you're not ignoring any area, you're serving everyone, but also working on efficiency to make sure that you're prioritizing your effort and you're avoiding disversion and too much fragmentation.
The fourth topic on economic development is return versus reinvention.
And again, we observe different models, the models of Pakistan and Bosnia and Herzegovina is very much to return to what was to rebuild, restore the economy as it was before, redevelop existing industries.
Now, of course, the advantage of this is these are well known industries.
They are building on the same sources of competitive advantage.
The risk here is that these industries have also moved on, have also relocated their activities, have found alternative locations, and take the risk of still having a relatively stalled economic development.
At the other extreme, we see here today the example of CBA of reinventing themselves.
What we call burning the pay book, which is investing new hyper industries with higher potential upside.
It's more challenging.
Need to really challenge yourself in looking for sources of competitive advantage that will attract the sectors, but this is where you can get really high value added and strong economic growth.
Of course, there are many shades of gray between the restore and the reinvent.
We have hybrid models, but it's not black or white.
The reality is that it's always a combination of those different parameters of different options and it's really how you position the cursor.
The last one is around incentives.
It's a very interesting topic and at the same time, a very complex one because what we observe and we observe that actually in the context of reconstruction, but as well in the broader context of economic development, there is no one size fits all for incentives.
Every single industry has specific needs.
Every single industry has a different P&L structure, every single industry will react differently to the same incentive.
In that context, we see very well that tax incentives, for instance, is one of the incentives, is one tool, but it captures only one, one fraction of the private investment because it's very broad and a little bit generally, too much one size fits all.
Here we see that also the broader countries or regions go in the set of incentives that they are putting on the table, the more they're able to drive economic development because with the broad set of incentives, they're able to really address the very different needs of different industries, of different companies.
So our recommendation here, our view is that it's really important actually when you start connecting all of these points together to understand what are the sectors that you want to attract, what are the industries, the companies, and understand the broad spectrum of incentives that you need to put on the table to maximize the return in terms of economic development for every dollar that you spend in the reconstruction.
Okay.
Now, bringing it all together and I want to go back to the point that I said at the beginning.
You've seen hopefully through the presentation that there's no right or wrong, there's no one size fits all, there's no silver bullet perfect solution that makes it easy.
It is a challenging undertaking, whatever the context.
It brings together infrastructure development, economic development, government funding, private sector and the art is really to be able to always make this balance in these trade offs.
But we've really identified these five points as the main points of attention of bringing together economic development and infrastructure.
I really having that logic of both integration with the broader context, but also serving local needs.
Having a tiered approach when it comes to focusing the effort, putting most of the effort in the high impact areas, but also enabling others to participate in the private sector and the local communities.
Use regeneration as an opportunity to reinvent a region and really unlock capital through unconventional and broad incentives.
Maybe one last word and a call for action in this fascinating topic that really we are all passionate about adversity is we want to continue this discussion.
We want to continue supporting in the thinking on this topic.
We propose to establish an international working group under or alongside UN Habitat.
We believe that Azerbijan is really fantastically positioned to lead such a thinking considering the very ambitious and very successful reconstruction effort in the country.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Philippe, thank you very much indeed.
Now I will invite Mr.
Nigel Dancy, senior executive partner at Foster and Partners to come and talk to us about designing connected cities infrastructure as a catalyst for regional cooperation and sustainable growth.
Thank you very much.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
I have some slides.
I'm going to take you on a little bit of a journey around the world with some of the projects that we do an awful lot of it relates back to what we've heard in the previous sessions and a lot of the really incredibly good things they're trying to do here in Azerijan.
We may be renowned for signature buildings occasion since the new museum for Shak Sayed, people know, and also JPMorgan, but we're a practice that really believes it's not about the buildings, it's really about the spaces between the buildings and about urban design, which really starts to make spaces and cities better.
We're interested in buildings, of course, but it's infrastructure and thinking about the spaces, the parks, the connections, et cetera, that really start to make cities great and habitable.
We've been looking at sustainability for over 50 years.
Lord Foster is our founder and as a practice, it's something that's always run through everything that we do along our journey.
We also are relatively global.
We have 20 offices worldwide, but we've worked in some 450 different cities, which is why coming to a city and understanding what you can learn from it and how sustainable it can be, what a good place it can be really resonates.
Two weeks ago, I was in Miami, for example, which is a car oriented city where we're designing six, seven stories of car parking underneath the towers, so people are still driving around everyone cars.
This whole conversation we just learned about the 20 minute city, the importance of public transportation, the importance of connectivity, the importance of being in a community.
All of those things really start to make cities what they really should be.
In London, a while ago, this is Jafalgar Square and we were involved in taking out the transportation and making it into a public space so that it's really something for everybody.
Now, that's just not just to annoy the taxi drivers or making a change for the bus drivers, it's really about creating spaces for people and there's an economic benefit and a whole series of benefits are doing that.
So we have more tourists.
We've saved a lot of money.
People are using public transportation more.
There's a reduction in air pollution.
These measures can actually be measurable and I say the Bilbau effect, which you know about Bilbao with the museum, but before the museum Guggenheim was built, there was a lot of congestion and I just heard about your ten new metro stops here.
But we were involved in creating the metro system in Bilbao, entrances, phosphors as they're called to the subway, Again, the Bilbao effect had a huge economic benefit with the transportation improvements with the cultural improvements to the whole of the Basque district.
The metro station itself, 100 million passengers a year, so pushing and pushing mobility, public transportation is something that we really believe in as we go through.
We've just talked a little bit before, but this is Hate in Turkey.
We were involved after the tragedy of the earthquake, where some 840,000 people removed, 240,000 homes were destroyed.
And we were then involved in a small team going back, meeting the local community and trying to figure out a master plan to rebuild this part of the city.
You guys you know where Hata is, not too far here.
And then 90% of the buildings have been destroyed and there was a whole effort on this incredible heritage culture, people who wanted to be back where they had grown up, where their generations of their family had come from.
Then with a master plan creating 20 minute communities.
We've created 13 communities together, all having a sense of public spaces, designing cultural buildings where we can restoring some of the historic fabric, but to try and create new sustainable communities with great public transportation, great connectivity where you can walk from place to place.
This is the master plan.
It's now under construction.
The first 5,000 people are about to move back into their city and their habitat.
But it was a great conversation about learning, listening, visiting, being part of a team, really try to re weave the historic fabric back together in a sustainable way to provide places for people to live and work and to be happy and be in a community with their family members.
This just shows a sense of that space with animated retail streets and obviously landscaping to create a space for people.
Then I put this in because we're bizarre in a stadium, I think we're on the pitch at the moment here, but this is Manchester United football club, and we've been involved with them, and it's not really about the stadium itself, it's about the impact that a project like this can do to the surrounding neighborhood.
So there's a master plan creating new homes, new jobs, new industry all around the stadium.
We work with the founder Jim Ratliff, the owner, developing a master plan where it's Old Trafford, it's Manchester, it's kind of a wasteland area.
We're trying to move away from seas of car parking everywhere, trying to move something which is much more urban and trying to put the stadium within the new part of the city.
As we kind of look towards the future, we look towards health, we look towards fitness and the way that we should live in the future, this is kind of post pandemic too.
Then being in a sports city that has education within it to support the local community neighborhood, we thought was a really interesting idea.
Then there's lots of conversations we have globally about density, the importance of building high, building big, putting a lot of people near each other as opposed to an urban sprawl which relies on the motor car.
In the middle is the JP Morgan Tower just finished in Manhattan.
Then this is a plan in Manhattan, New York City just in the green in the center.
The plan shows that as you move out of New York, you start to get towards the pink zone, so that's more carbon dioxide being used per household.
Those people are having to drive everywhere, nothing's nearby.
When you get to Manhattan, you can see at the bottom, it's green.
It's the lowest carbon.
No one's a private transport, using public transport.
Everyone has things nearby.
It's a walkable city and therefore, a much more sustainable place to live.
I think as a model, where we can we try and push density, it's important to try and get clusters, whether that be around public transportation nodes as we look forward, but that's something that we really believe in as we start working around the world.
The building, we called it a city within a city and I think sustainability is something which we really believe in.
I think also post pandemic, there's a challenge globally of getting people back into the workplace.
People still work from home.
When they come to work, they should be in a space that's healthy.
We have the largest all electric tower in Manhattan.
We have twice as much air filtered into the space.
So you can feel it when you're in the building.
You can feel the fresh air.
It's triple glazed, it's zero carbon in operation.
In order to build it, we took down a building on the site and we managed to recycle 97% of that building as a wage as we look trying to figure out a way that if you can't repurpose a building and you need to replace it, you need to be very careful, very mindful of what you're going to do, and then you need to design buildings that can last for the next 50 100 years and satisfy the changes that are ahead of us in terms of technology and the way we live and work in the future.
This is the skyline and that's really the end of my talk, thank you very much.
Thank you.
Fascinating stuff.
Gentlemen, thank you very much indeed.
Unfortunately, there isn't time for us to take audience questions.
I'm sure there'll be a lot, but if you see these two distinguished gentlemen around, I'm sure they'll be only happy to take a few questions from you.
Thank you very much indeed.
Thank you to all of you.
It's been a pretty hot afternoon here, but we appreciate your patience and your tolerance and I'm sure you'll agree we've had a really fascinating discussion.
Thank you very much indeed.
Thank you.