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