Ilham Aliyev received UN Deputy Secretary-General

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, on May 21.

The head of state expressed his gratitude to the UN leadership for the support in organizing the 13th Session of the World Urban Forum. He noted that the Azerbaijani Government and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) worked as one team for the successful organization of the event.

President Ilham Aliyev highlighted that WUF13 is the second-largest global event hosted by Azerbaijan in terms of participation after COP29, and emphasized that the 13th Session of the World Urban Forum, like COP29, was organized successfully.

The head of state said that Azerbaijan maintains effective cooperation with the UN-Habitat and will continue its partnership with the Programme in the future, while remaining actively involved in other sessions of the World Urban Forum.

Amina Mohammed conveyed the greetings of UN Secretary-General António Guterres to the head of state.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked her for the greetings and asked her to pass on his own regards to António Guterres.

Amina Mohammed noted that WUF13 was held successfully and congratulated the head of state on this occasion. She said she was deeply impressed by the large number of high-level participants from various countries around the world.

Amina Mohammed hailed the harmonious blend of historical heritage and modernity in Baku, achieved through the application of modern urban planning standards, and stated that this gives the capital a special beauty.

During the meeting, it was noted that the reconstruction and development projects implemented by Azerbaijan in the liberated territories serve as a model for other post-conflict regions. The importance of sharing Azerbaijan’s experience within the UN framework with other countries was emphasized.

The meeting recalled that Azerbaijan’s “ASAN Khidmet” model has been awarded the UN Public Service Award as well as a UN special award in digital public service delivery. It was noted that the successful “ASAN Khidmet” experience has been implemented in various countries in Africa and Asia.

The sides emphasized that Azerbaijan, as an active member of the UN, has for many years maintained successful cooperation with the organization and contributed significantly to the implementation of its programmes and initiatives. They also noted that Azerbaijan has successfully hosted numerous high-level UN events on various topics to date.