On the road to COP31, the COP31 President-Designate joined WUF13 in Baku to advance safe, resilient and sustainable cities, share Türkiye’s post-earthquake reconstruction experience, and sign a bilateral cooperation agreement with Azerbaijan on building energy efficiency.
As part of Türkiye’s COP31 Presidency process, Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and COP31 President-Designate Murat Kurum participated in the 13th World Urban Forum (WUF13) held in Baku, Azerbaijan. Representing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the opening session, Minister Kurum underlined the importance of placing safe, resilient and sustainable cities at the centre of the global agenda.
Held under the theme “Housing the World: Safe and Resilient Cities and Communities,” the Forum brought together international leaders and policymakers to discuss housing, climate resilience, disaster risk reduction and sustainable urbanisation.
During the Forum, Minister Kurum highlighted Türkiye’s post-earthquake reconstruction experience as an example of how rebuilding efforts can support broader goals around resilient infrastructure, energy efficiency, sustainable urban development and climate adaptation. He noted that the reconstruction process following the February 6 earthquakes demonstrated the importance of planning cities holistically by integrating housing, infrastructure, social needs and environmental resilience within a single implementation framework. In this context, he said Türkiye aims to place resilient cities, safe housing, low-carbon urbanisation, energy efficiency and Zero Waste more prominently on the global climate agenda through the COP31 process.
On the sidelines of the Forum, Minister Kurum held a bilateral meeting with Azerbaijan’s Minister of Energy, Parviz Shahbazov, during which the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Technical Cooperation in Energy Efficiency in Buildings. The agreement will strengthen institutional cooperation between the two ministries, support knowledge-sharing on building energy performance and encourage joint efforts on the use of renewable energy sources. Minister Kurum welcomed the agreement as another important step in strengthening cooperation between Türkiye and “friendly and brotherly” Azerbaijan on sustainable urban development and energy transition priorities ahead of COP31.
Minister Kurum also held bilateral meetings with Oman’s Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, Dr. Khalfan Al Shueili, and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Municipalities and Housing, Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, to discuss cooperation on resilient cities, sustainable urban development, housing, smart cities and infrastructure. He reaffirmed Türkiye’s commitment to strengthening international cooperation ahead of COP31 and to sharing practical implementation experience on sustainable urbanisation and post-disaster reconstruction.
