From November 4-8, 2024, the 12th World Urban Forum (WUF12) will be taken place in Cairo, Egypt, with the theme “It all starts at home”. The forum emphasizes the role of local governments in each country in promoting sustainable urban development.
Deputy Minister Nguyen Tuong Van co-chaired the Connectivity Conference at the 12th World Urban Forum.
Attending the Forum, the Vietnamese delegation included representatives from ministries, departments, branches, localities, non-governmental organizations, press agencies, etc. The delegation of the Ministry of Construction of Vietnam, led by Deputy Minister Nguyen Tuong Van, attended a number of key events such as: Opening session; the Ministerial Roundtable of 53 countries; the UN-Habitat High-level meeting with Vietnam; a network session between Vietnam, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
The WUF was established by the United Nations in 2001 and was first held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, in 2002. It is the world's leading conference on urban issues, such as rapid urbanization and its impact on communities, cities, economies, and climate change policies.
The Vietnamese delegation presented souvenirs and took photos with the UN - Habitat Senior Leadership Delegation.
WUF12 attracts 37,000 participants from 182 countries and territories around the world. The forum will be live-streamed and translated into six official UN languages to ensure accessibility for all. The event offers an opportunity to discuss the challenges and solutions for sustainable urban development, highlighting the importance of local action in driving global change.
This year's forum features over 600 networking events, with key discussion sessions including Housing our future: addressing the global housing crisis, and emphasizing the importance of ensuring adequate housing for all and reducing inequality; Cities and the climate crisis: strategies for urban resilience against climate change and highlighting the role of cities in mitigating and adapting to climate change; Stronger together: fostering partnerships between government levels and civil society to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Financing localization: analyzing the financial needs to achieve global goals, focusing on sustainable financial mechanisms; Putting people first in the digital era: examining how digital technology can transform cities and communities while ensuring technological solutions meet people’s needs; Investigating how localization efforts can protect people from losing their homes in the context of crises and migration.
Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tuong Van and the delegation of the Ministry of Construction attended the Forum.
At the meeting with senior leaders of UN-Habitat including Mr. Michal Mlynár - Deputy Executive Director of UN-Habitat Global and Ms. Kazuko Ishigaki - Regional Director of UN-Habitat Asia - Pacific, Deputy Minister Nguyen Tuong Van introduced the current status of urban development in Vietnam and the policies and laws in the construction sector that have been issued and are expected to be issued.
Deputy Minister Nguyen Tuong Van highly appreciated the cooperation activities between the Ministry of Construction of Vietnam and UN-Habitat, and hoped that the two sides would soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation, promoting cooperation in the following areas: strengthening institutions and policies on urban development management; technical support in urban planning, renovation, reconstruction and planning management towards sustainable urban development; promoting projects to develop synchronous, modern, interconnected urban infrastructure systems; improving the capacity of officials in the construction sector; improving people's access to housing; building urban data and developing smart cities, focusing on implementing sustainable development goals at the local level.
Overview of the Connectivity Conference co-chaired by Vietnam at the 12th World Urban Forum.
Deputy Minister Nguyen Tuong Van emphasized that UN-Habitat is a long-term cooperative partner of the Ministry of Construction in many areas, such as supporting the development of housing policies for low-income people, guiding policy makers, urban monitoring systems, city profiles, Vietnam Urban Forum, Habitat III Report, etc.
Within the framework of the Forum, the Ministry of Construction delegation will continue to work to promote bilateral cooperation with the Ministry of Housing and Public Services of the Russian Federation; the Ministry of Housing, Infrastructure and Urban Communities of Egypt; the Governor of Istanbul, Türkiye, etc.