By King’s Office Correspondents
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – Republic of Azerbaijan President IIham Aliyev has appreciated the over 45 000 participants from 182 countries who attends this week World Urban Forum here, saying it is the biggest gathering after COP29.
The president made this observation when delivering his speech at the opening ceremony of the 13th Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) under the theme: “Housing the World: Safe and Resilient cities and communities.”
He said the forum is held with the support of the United Nation’s Habitat, with the sole aim of improving people’s lives.
“In many parts of Azerbaijan, the urban development goes very rapidly and definitely this important gathering and the expertise of our friends from the United Nations and the numerous guests who visit us will help all of us to learn more, to learn from each other, to learn from positive experiences and also to talk about our mistakes,” President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said.
He said with all the understanding about the necessity of urban development, especially in capital cities, they must be brave and cautious at the same time to ensure that whilst they embrace modernization, they don’t bury their ancient historic sights.
“Ganja, one of the oldest cities in the world, the birthplace of another great Azerbaijani poet of the 12th century, Nizami Ganjavi, today is developing while, like Baku, preserving its historical look. Gabala and Shaki—the capital and one of the main cities of the state of Caucasian Albania—have numerous historical monuments, and the church in the village of Kish, near Shaki, is probably one of the oldest in the world.
“Another example of the talent of our ancestors is the village of Lahij; 15 centuries ago, when the village was created, its people built a sewage system and water pipeline that are still functional today,” President Aliyev said.
He said of their major tasks for his government is the reconstruction of Garabagh and East Zangezur, an area which had been under Armenian occupation for 30 years and suffered total destruction and devastation.
The President noted: “International observers and visitors compared, for instance, Aghdam with Hiroshima. They called it the Hiroshima of the Caucasus because this city just did not exist. It was totally leveled to the ground, and unlike Hiroshima, it was done not in one day as a result of an atomic bomb, but it was done during 30 years of occupation, when the buildings, historical buildings, public buildings and houses were just dismantled and completely destroyed.”
“We are proud of our ancient history, which is reflected not only in our music, poems but also in architecture.
“Our duty is to preserve it for the next generation, and the next generation will do the same,” President Aliyev stated.
In a video played at the opening ceremony, United Nation’s Secretary General Antonio Guterres extended his greetings saying the forum is held amid the global crises, conflicts and rising energy and food prices.
He noted that the current agenda is focused on the often under-discussed global housing crisis.
“Housing is a human right and fundamental to human dignity. The World Urban Forum will serve as a catalyst for turning these objectives into reality”.
The UN Secretary General said it is a crisis that about three billion people don’t have decent houses, and, in fact, live in slums.
