UN hosts a high-level diplomatic briefing on WUF13

A high-level diplomatic briefing on the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) was held at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York, Report informs.

Officials from member countries, high-level UN officials, and representatives of partner organizations participated in the briefing, which took place within the framework of the partnership between UN-Habitat and the Government of Azerbaijan.

The panel discussions were attended by UN Deputy Secretary-General and UN-Habitat Executive Director Anaclaudia Rossbach, Deputy Head of the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture of Azerbaijan, Deputy National Coordinator for WUF13 Gulshan Rzayeva, Head of UN-Habitat's Canada Office Omar Siddique, Head of the Climate Diplomacy Department at Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry Elchin Allahverdiyev, and Second Secretary of Azerbaijan's Permanent Mission to the UN Nigar Bayramli.

The diplomatic briefing was moderated by Elvin Ashrafzada, Chargé d'Affaires and Deputy Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan to the UN. The diplomat emphasized that the high interest in the event demonstrates the importance given to the forum. He noted that Azerbaijan's hosting of the forum is not only a great responsibility for the country but also creates an opportunity to contribute to the international dialogue on sustainable urbanization.

In her speech, Gulshan Rzayeva informed participants about the Leaders' Summit, which will be held for the first time within the WUF13 framework with the participation of heads of state and government. She also briefed participants about planned ministerial meetings and other thematic sessions. She noted that logistics, security, and urban transportation plans are being prepared in Baku for WUF13.

UN-Habitat Executive Director Anaclaudia Rossbach, in turn, stated that WUF13 coincides with the 10th anniversary of the New Urban Agenda, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2016, and will be held on the eve of the interim review of this document's implementation. She emphasized that the forum will be an important platform for advancing the Sustainable Cities and Communities goal.

In particular, Omar Siddique gave a comprehensive presentation on the forum's content, preparation process, and Azerbaijan's priorities as the host country. It was announced that the forum will include a full-day Ministerial Meeting, six high-level dialogues, thematic assemblies, more than 350 partner events, the Urban Expo exhibition, and for the first time, the WUF Academy training platform. He mentioned that the adoption of an action-oriented final document called the Baku Call is planned at the end of the forum.

In his speech, Elchin Allahverdiyev stated that the forum will play the role of a UN global platform. The documents to be prepared will be formed based on the opinions and suggestions of various stakeholders and will create a solid foundation for future cooperation.

The diplomatic briefing continued with a question-and-answer session for diplomats from member countries.