Amman, May 23 (Petra) – Jordan participated in the 13th session of
the World Urban Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan, from May 17 to 22 with
broad international participation focused on housing and sustainable
urban development issues.

In Jordan’s address to the forum, Director General of the Housing and
Urban Development Corporation Jumana Atiyat called for strengthening
international cooperation to address growing urban and housing
challenges.

Atiyat discussed Jordan’s progress in preparing its second Voluntary
National Review for implementing the New Urban Agenda, noting that
the Kingdom increased urban indicator coverage from 52 per cent to 95
per cent and is working toward establishing a National Urban
Observatory.

During several dialogue sessions, she outlined key challenges facing
Jordan’s housing sector, including population growth, rapid urban
expansion and pressures stemming from the refugee crisis.

She reviewed government initiatives aimed at narrowing the gap
between housing supply and demand through the development of housing
projects and serviced land.

Atiyat noted that Jordan launched standards and principles for
“Cities of the Future” within the framework of the Economic
Modernisation Vision, making it the first Arab country to introduce a
national index for measuring and evaluating future-ready cities.

The initiative aims to improve the quality of life and enhance
service efficiency.

On the sidelines of the forum, the Jordanian delegation held meetings
with officials from the United Nations Human Settlements Programme
(UN-Habitat), which organised the forum, to discuss ways to
strengthen cooperation and exchange expertise in sustainable urban
development and housing.

//Petra// AK