(May 18, 2026, Baku)

Your Excellency, Mr. Ilham Aliyev!

Distinguished Heads of Delegations!

Ladies and gentlemen!

It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to the thirteenth session of the World Urban Forum, a prestigious platform for discussing the most pressing issues of global development.

I would like to express my profound gratitude to H.E. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, for the impeccable organization of today's conference in the beautiful city of Baku - the “Pearl of the Caspian” - and for the warm hospitality extended to us.

Under your leadership, Azerbaijan is undergoing rapid large-scale development, especially in the land of Karabakh. In a short space of time, entire cities have been restored in the liberated territories and new residential complexes and modern infrastructure facilities have been built.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to emphasize that Uzbekistan stands ready to make a worthy contribution to such noble endeavours.

Distinguished Forum Participants!

The agenda item, "Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities" remains as relevant as ever. According to analysis, nearly 70 percent of the world’s population will reside in cities by the middle of the 21st century.

At the same time, urbanization is exacerbating a number of social problems.

Today, almost 3 billion people worldwide lack adequate housing. More than one billion of them live in informal settlements and slums, while more than 300 million people have no shelter at all. Climate change, a volatile international situation and economic crises are generating new waves of global migration, leading to the redistribution of populations among countries and cities. In short, urbanization is becoming a critical factor that directly impacts global stability and security.

All of this requires us to take decisive and urgent actions.

Dear friends!

The issue of sustainable urban development is of strategic importance to the New Uzbekistan.

Over the next 15 years, our country's population is expected to grow from 38 million to 50 million, with the urbanization rate rising from 51 to 65 percent. We believe this presents a unique opportunity to promote balanced regional development and ensure economic growth.

To this end, in Uzbekistan: the annual number of housing units under construction has increased tenfold over the last ten years, reaching 238 thousand apartments in 2025, and we plan to increase this figure by a further one-and-a-half times by 2030; approximately $2 billion is allocated annually from the budget for programs to provide the population with affordable housing; a special law was adopted in 2024 to address the issue of informal settlements, formalizing documents for around 100 thousand residences; the share of residences built through renovation is planned to increase from 15 to 60 percent to upgrade outdated housing stock.

The National Committee for Urbanization has been established to effectively manage these processes.

As part of the “Green Space” and “Clean Air” programs, we have set a goal to increase the level of urban greening to 30 percent by 2030.

In landscaping cities and improving the population's lifestyle, we place great reliance on mahalla institution, a traditional form of citizens' self-governance.

Ladies and gentlemen!

The “New Tashkent” megaproject, which is designed to accommodate a population of two million, is a vivid example of our urbanization strategy. It fully incorporates the most advanced modern urban planning solutions, including the principles of “green”, “smart”, “safe” and “15-minute” cities.

In the first phase alone, we have launched investment projects here valued at over $25 billion.

A presentation of the project's concept is taking place at the "Urban Expo" exhibition, which is being held as part of the Forum.

Most importantly, similar projects are being developed not only in the capital, but also in all regions of our country as part of the "New Uzbekistan" residential area initiative. To date, 61 such residential areas have been built, and this number is expected to reach 100 by 2030.

At this point, I would like to express my gratitude to Ms. Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of the UN Human Settlements Programme, as well as to the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and other leading financial institutions, for their invaluable support in our urbanization and urban planning initiatives.

Distinguished Forum Participants!

I would like to put forward a number of proposals and initiatives on the issues being discussed today.

First, creating equal living conditions for the population across all regions requires the harmonious development of small and medium-sized cities.

In this regard, I call on partner countries to widely implement the principle of "balanced urbanization" in urban development.

Second, it is imperative that all countries have equal access to the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence and digital transformation in urban governance.

To this end, I propose establishing an international "Smart and Safe Cities Alliance" to facilitate the systematic exchange of technologies, standards and experiences in this field.

Third, it is crucial to provide young people and vulnerable segments of the population with quality and affordable housing.

To this end, we are prepared to host an international forum in Samarkand next year to discuss new approaches to financing and investing in housing construction.

Fourth, in light of global climate change, there is an increasing urgency to adopt common principles and standards for creating "green cities".

To encourage the development of cities in harmony with nature, I propose establishing the "UN-Habitat Green City International Award."

Fifth, the rising level of urbanization is further enhancing the role of traditional self-governing structures within cities.

In this regard, I propose to hold the 15th session of the World Urban Forum in New Tashkent in 2030, with the main theme being "The role of the local communities in the sustainable development of cities"!

Dear Forum Participants!

I am confident that today's event will facilitate the finding of joint solutions to mutually beneficial and promising issues, pave the way for new initiatives, and make a significant contribution to the development of the field.

In conclusion, I wish the forum great success.