Address by President Ilham Aliyev on Successful Conclusion of WUF13
Azerbaijan had the privilege to host another landmark global event — WUF13, the second biggest international gathering ever held in the country after COP29. We congratulate all participants, partners, and the UN family, in particular UN-Habitat, on the successful and result-oriented WUF13. With a record number of around 60,000 participants, WUF13 went down in history as the largest World Urban Forum ever held. The first-ever Leaders’ Segment, convened at Azerbaijan’s initiative, brought greater political momentum to the global urban agenda. Rich and comprehensive discussions at WUF13 resulted in two important outcome documents — the Chair’s Summary and the Baku Call to Action. As a country that suffered from urbicide, culturcide, and ecocide, Azerbaijan is now rebuilding 9 cities and hundreds of villages from the ground up in Garabagh and East Zangezur. We therefore take pride in the strong recognition by the international community of Azerbaijan’s post-conflict reconstruction efforts, highlighted as a valuable example for other post-conflict contexts around the world. The ideas emerging from the Forum and reflected in the outcome documents — ranging from clean air and sustainable urban development to the preservation of cultural heritage and the needs of Small Island Developing States — will further enrich and guide the global urban agenda. At a time of growing global uncertainty, WUF13 represents another meaningful contribution by Azerbaijan to multilateralism and collective action for a better future.