Cairo hosted another virtual workshop on the upcoming 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13). The event was organized by UN-Habitat Egypt, in collaboration with the UN-Habitat Regional Office for Arab States (ROAS) and the World Urban Forum (WUF) Coordination Office, gathering representatives of the UN and Arab institutions operating in urbanization, as well as members of public organizations.

The workshop forms part of “Egypt Urban Week: From Egypt to Azerbaijan”, an initiative aimed at mobilizing the legacy of WUF12, hosted in Cairo in November 2024, and ensuring its continuity through meaningful and coordinated regional engagement in the lead-up to WUF13, scheduled to take place in Baku on May 17–22 this year.

Opening remarks were delivered by Elkhan Polukhov, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Egypt; Rania Hedeya, Regional Director of UN-Habitat for the Arab States; Anacláudia Rossbach, UN-Habitat Executive Director; and Ahmed Rizk, Director of UN-Habitat Egypt.

Ambassador Elkhan Polukhov stressed the global significance of the World Urban Forum as a key platform for dialogue and exchange of experience in urbanization.

According to him, the six-day WUF13 Forum will feature meetings, sessions, roundtables, and the WUF13 Expo, addressing pressing urban challenges, including the settlement problem and the housing crisis.

The diplomat added that WUF13 would convene a Ministerial Meeting on the New Urban Agenda, which is crucial for reviewing the progress achieved over the past decade and identifying key areas for the full implementation of the document by 2036.

 

Shikhali Aliyev

Special correspondent

 

AZERTAC

2026, February 13