Khankendi: China's experience in urban transformation offers valuable insights for addressing pressing global challenges such as climate change, poverty, and inequality, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) Anaclaudia Rossbach has said. She made the remarks on Wednesday in an interview with Xinhua during the 3rd Azerbaijan National Urban Forum, which was held from Wednesday to Friday in Azerbaijan's Khankendi city and capital Baku.
According to Namibia Press Agency, Rossbach highlighted China's significant contribution to UN-Habitat's work, emphasizing that countries worldwide can benefit from China's approach to developing sustainable, people- and nature-oriented cities. "I am truly impressed by the remarkable progress of Chinese cities, particularly over the past 10 to 15 years," she remarked.
Rossbach underscored the importance of China's partnership with UN-Habitat, citing the Shanghai Award and the Shanghai Manual as key examples of collaboration. These initiatives, she explained, assist UN-Habitat in gathering innovative experiences and practices on a global scale. The Shanghai Manual, she noted, is the second most downloaded publication at UN-Habitat and serves as a resource for cities and stakeholders worldwide to explore innovative practices aligned with the New Urban Agenda.
The New Urban Agenda, adopted at the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in 2016, provides a universal framework for sustainable urban development, focusing on creating inclusive, resilient, and environmentally friendly cities. Rossbach also praised China's observance of World Cities Day, celebrated annually on October 31 since 2014, for its role in raising awareness about the importance of urbanization in sustainable development.
She expressed optimism about the potential for UN-Habitat to collaborate more closely with China in addressing significant global challenges like climate change, poverty, and inequality from an urban perspective.