Nearly ten years after the adoption of the New Urban Agenda, our cities continue to face increasingly complex and interconnected challenges such as housing shortages, inequality, the impacts of climate change, forced displacement, and growing pressure on infrastructure and basic services, Poland’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Krzysztof Szczerski, said during the ministerial meeting held within the framework of WUF13, APA reports.
“Today’s meeting comes at a very important moment for the global urban agenda.
Nearly ten years after the adoption of the New Urban Agenda, our cities continue to face increasingly complex and interconnected challenges such as housing shortages, inequality, the impacts of climate change, forced displacement, and growing pressure on infrastructure and basic services.
As the esteemed Executive Director also noted, these challenges continue to intensify.
At the same time, cities remain centers of opportunity, economic development, innovation, and resilience.
The high-level midterm review of the New Urban Agenda, to be held in New York on July 16–17 this year under the mandate of the UN General Assembly, presents an important opportunity.
This event provides an opportunity to assess the implementation of the New Urban Agenda at all levels, identify gaps and challenges, and reinvigorate political will to achieve a sustainable urban future.
Poland is strongly committed to this goal, and we demonstrate this through our activities in the international arena.
One example of this commitment was the 11th World Urban Forum held in the city of Katowice in 2022.
Currently, together with Malawi’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Agnes Chimbiri-Molande, I have the honor of leading the intergovernmental process on the political declaration aimed at renewing commitment to the New Urban Agenda and accelerating its implementation.
We are determined to conduct an open, transparent, and inclusive process reflecting the priorities and experiences of member states.
We see this process as another opportunity for the international community to reaffirm its commitment to sustainable development that leaves no one behind.
This renewal comes at a very timely moment, as the world’s population continues to grow in cities and towns of different sizes.
We must ensure that all our urban spaces become places of social cohesion, economic opportunity, and resilience to various shocks.
The successful implementation of the New Urban Agenda depends not only on global commitments, but also on actions taken at the national and local levels.
This is precisely the core essence of the World Urban Forum — partnership, shared commitment, multilateral governance, and the participation of civil society.
That is why the discussions in Baku will be extremely important.
The World Urban Forum is a unique platform where all stakeholders can come together to discuss real experiences, best practices, and challenges related to sustainable urban development.
The problems and opportunities of both major metropolises and small towns, as well as capitals and secondary cities, are discussed here.
I look forward to productive discussions today and continued cooperation in the lead-up to the high-level midterm review.
I hope this process will result in the successful adoption of the political declaration.”
