Azerbaijan backs Hatay Declaration

A delegation led by Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister and COP29 lead negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev attended an event titled "Türkiye's Road to COP31: Resilient Cities" in Hatay, Türkiye, Report informs.

The event included panel discussions, a high-level session and a ministerial roundtable.

The event, held in the context of Türkiye's bid to host COP31, brought together ministers, deputy ministers and heads of international organizations from various countries. Participants discussed urban development resilient to climate change and natural disasters.

Speaking at the high-level session, Deputy Minister Yalchin Rafiyev said the event's organization in Hatay, which was hit by a devastating earthquake three years ago but restored in a short period thanks to the efforts of the Turkish government, carried special moral significance. He said this experience demonstrated the practical application of a modern urban development model resilient to climate change and natural disasters.

Rafiyev also noted that green, safe and sustainable cities were being built in Azerbaijan's liberated territories in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and said 2026 has been declared the "Year of Urban Planning and Architecture" in Azerbaijan.

He said the 13th session of the UN World Urban Forum, or WUF13, to be held in Baku on May 17-22, would make an important contribution to the global urban agenda. Rafiyev stressed the importance of a coordinated approach between the COP31 and WUF processes and said Azerbaijan was ready to work closely with Türkiye's COP31 presidency in this direction.

Speaking at the ministerial roundtable chaired by Turkish Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum, Rafiyev expressed support for the Hatay Declaration adopted at the end of the event. He said the ideas reflected in the declaration were aimed at making an important contribution to international climate policy and the sustainable urban development agenda within both WUF13 and COP31.