The 13th edition of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) held in Baku showed Azerbaijan’s “meaningful contribution to multilateralism,” the country’s President Ilham Aliyev has said.
Aliyev said it had been a "privilege" to host the 2026 UN sustainable urbanisation conference, noting that it was the second-largest international event ever held in Azerbaijan after COP29.
“We congratulate all participants, partners, and the UN family, in particular UN-Habitat, on the successful and result-oriented WUF13,” he said in a statement shared on social media.
“With a record number of around 60,000 participants, WUF13 went down in history as the largest World Urban Forum ever held,” Aliyev added.
Housing was high on the agenda of this year’s event, which had the theme, “Housing the World: Safe and Resilient Cities and Communities.”
Multiple sessions at the conference focused on post-conflict reconstruction and resettlement, a timely topic in light of ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Talks were delivered by officials from Azerbaijan about the country’s own rebuilding efforts in the liberated territories.
President Aliyev said delegates from abroad valued Azerbaijan’s experience in this area.
“As a country that suffered from urbicide, culturicide, and ecocide, Azerbaijan is now rebuilding nine cities and hundreds of villages from the ground up in Garabagh and East Zangezur,” he said.
“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,” Aliyev continued.
Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, said the size and range of this year’s event were unprecedented.
"Never before has a forum of this nature brought together such a vast and diverse global audience, reflecting the growing recognition that housing and sustainable urban development are central to our collective future," she said.
WUF13 took place from 17 to 22 May at Baku Olympic Stadium.
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