Ilham Aliyev's green energy, sustainable urban development initiatives gain global support - OPINION

The emphasis on the Azerbaijani President's vision in the Chair's Summary adopted at WUF13 stems from his contribution to resolving global problems, Azerbaijani MP Hikmat Babaoglu told Report.

He said the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13), held in Azerbaijan, went down in history.

"The forum wrote a new history both for WUF13 and Azerbaijan's international relations. A record number of participants attended this international event, which is considered one of the world

s largest. The session also saw, for the first time at this level, initiatives for cooperation between countries and an exchange of experience in addressing urban planning and urbanization problems, one of the world's global challenges. Azerbaijan's high-level hosting of international organizations drew attention at the forum. A number of firsts also took place at WUF13. The Chair's Summary was adopted here. Ministers and deputy ministers from more than 70 countries took part in the adoption of the document. It was noted that the event, attended by more than 57,000 participants from 176 countries, would be remembered as the largest session of the World Urban Forum in WUF history," he said.

The MP said this was primarily related to the authority of the host country and its leader in the system of international relations.

"Although the event was organized under the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the level at which it was held depends on the head of the host state's relations with the heads of state of other countries. The emphasis on the Azerbaijani President's vision and leadership in the Chair's Summary stems from this. As a UN member, Azerbaijan regularly comes forward with initiatives to make the organization more effective and functional in resolving global problems," he said.

According to Hikmat Babaoglu, the Azerbaijani President's remarks on the UN further deepen the UN-Azerbaijan dialogue and make it strategic.

"In any case, ideas, initiatives and mechanisms for their implementation are needed to manage any international organization or state. Azerbaijan currently cooperates with the UN in this context, on a real and rational basis. This will lead to further deepening and diversification of UN-Azerbaijan relations in the future. By hosting such events, Azerbaijan is in fact also becoming a country that defines a new quality for events held on the initiative of the United Nations," he said.