Promotional meetings held in Ethiopia ahead of WUF13

As part of preparations for the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13), meetings were held with Ethiopia's Minister of Urban and Infrastructure, Chaltu Sani Ibrahim; Mayor of Addis Ababa, Adanech Abiebie; Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Claver Gatete; African Union Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, Moses Vilakati; and other officials, Azerbaijan's Embassy in Ethiopia told Report.

It was noted that Ruslan Nasibov, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union, Sultan Hajiyev, Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Kenya and Permanent Representative to UN-Habitat, and Oumar Sylla, Director of UN-Habitat's Regional Office for Africa, also attended the meetings.

The discussions covered the essence of WUF13, the preparation process, initiatives, planned events and activities, as well as opportunities for participation and cooperation.

The importance of the forum, themed Housing for All: Safe and Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements, was emphasized in terms of strengthening international cooperation in sustainable urban development and presenting Azerbaijan's contributions to global processes together with international partners.

Additionally, Azerbaijan, recognized as a global champion of urban development, shared its interest in sectoral cooperation with African states within WUF13.

In most meetings, Azerbaijan's experience and initiatives related to COP29, as well as the interconnected impacts of sustainable urban planning and climate change processes, were highlighted as significant for Ethiopia's hosting of COP32. Strong interest in cooperation within this framework was expressed.

The Azerbaijani delegation also participated in an event in Addis Ababa organized under Kenya's Building Climate Resilience for Urban Poor (BCRUP) initiative with the involvement of international partners.