First day of WUF13 concludes in Baku

The first day of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) has concluded in Baku, Report informs.

The event is being held at the Baku Olympic Stadium.

The busy program of the first day included a ministerial meeting, a ministerial roundtable, and panel discussions at the ministerial level.

In addition, the official flag-raising ceremony of the host country and the UN took place during the day, symbolizing the start of the forum.

Summing up the day, Anar Guliyev, Chairman of the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture, said the discussions focused on key challenges and priorities of sustainable urban development.

According to him, panel participants emphasized that adequate and affordable housing should be viewed in three interconnected dimensions: as a basic human right and the foundation of inclusiveness; as an element of economic infrastructure linked to employment, services and opportunities; and as an important tool of climate policy, disaster risk reduction and strengthening urban resilience.

"The discussions also emphasized the importance of practical implementation of adopted decisions, sustainable financing, multi-level governance, the involvement of local communities and the development of partnerships. A more complete reflection of the panel discussions, including detailed conclusions and recommendations, will be included in the updated chair's summary, which will be presented later this week," he said.

The forum, which will run until May 22, is being held in close cooperation between the Government of Azerbaijan and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).

WUF13 is considered one of the most important international platforms, once again drawing global attention to Azerbaijan. More than 40,000 people from 182 countries have registered to participate in the 13th session of the forum, a record in the forum's history. This reflects the growing global prestige of the event and strong international interest in Azerbaijan.