"I express my deep gratitude to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for the flawless 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 his leadership, Azerbaijan, and particularly Garabagh, is undergoing rapid and large-scale development. In a short span of time, entire cities have been restored in the liberated territories, and new residential complexes and modern infrastructure facilities have been constructed. Taking this opportunity, I would like to emphasize that Uzbekistan stands ready to make a worthy contribution to such noble initiatives," said President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, during the WUF13 Leaders' Statements.

Axar.az reports that Shavkat Mirziyoyev stated that the global agenda for housing, safe and sustainable cities, and communities remains highly relevant today. According to analyses, nearly 70 percent of the world's population will live in urban areas by the middle of the 21st century. At the same time, urbanization exacerbates a number of social issues. Today, approximately 3 billion people worldwide lack adequate housing conditions. More than 1 billion of them live in informal settlements and slums, while over 300 million people have no shelter at all. Climate change, the volatile international situation, and economic crises are generating new waves of global migration, leading to the redistribution of populations across countries and cities.

The President of Uzbekistan expressed his confidence that today's event will facilitate the discovery of joint solutions to mutually beneficial and promising issues, foster the creation of new initiatives, and make a significant contribution to the development of this field.