World Urban Forum sees record turnout in Azerbaijan, UN-Habitat confirms

Malaysia has welcomed the fact that Baku has surpassed the World Urban Forum attendance record previously held by Kuala Lumpur, according to Nga Kor Ming, acting President of the UN-Habitat Assembly.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Malaysian pavilion held within the framework of WUF13 in Baku, he recalled that WUF9 in Kuala Lumpur was, at the time, the largest edition of the forum, gathering more than 25,000 participants, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

"We are happy to see that today this record has been set by Azerbaijan, with the number of participants reaching 42,000. This shows that we are moving in the right direction, raising people's awareness that we share a common mission and a common future," Ming stressed.

He underlined Malaysia’s continued commitment to the forum’s theme - "Housing for Peace: Safe and Resilient Cities and Communities" - and its willingness to cooperate in advancing inclusive and sustainable urban development.

Nga Kor Ming further noted that nearly 80% of Malaysia’s population now lives in urban areas, adding that urbanisation is seen as a driver of innovation and development.

According to him, by 2023, Malaysia had surpassed 1.1 million affordable housing units, exceeding the targets set under the 12th development plan. He added that more than 511,000 affordable homes have already been completed, while the national homeownership rate has reached 77%.

By Jeyhun Aghazada