Highlights and images for 9 February 2020

The tenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF10) continued on Sunday, with the official opening taking place in the morning. During the ceremony, it was announced that more than 80 ministers, 70 mayors, and over 18,000 delegates from 140 nations had registered for WUF10.Falah Mohammad Al Ahbabi, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Department of Municipalities and Transport, noted that WUF10 was the first conference of its kind to be held in the Arab region. UN Secretary-General António Guterres, addressed the Forum in a video message, noting that urbanization often comes with problems such as high rates of inequality.Ashraf Ghani, President of Afghanistan, said the shared goal for cities to become more compact and sustainable between now and 2050 is threatened by environmental change, a technological revolution, and mounting political rivalries and violence. Prime Minister of Fiji Frank Bainimarama emphasized the need to make urban living synonymous with sustainability and called on “every nation, city and community” to join Fiji in achieving net zero emissions by 2050.UN-Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif urged for turning urbanization into a net positive contributor to life on earth. In the afternoon, a ministerial roundtable heard statements from more than 20 high-level dignitaries, and the second Pan-Arab Urban Development Symposium considered region-specific challenges that influence sustainable urbanization and urban resilience. UN-Habitat’s new Goodwill Ambassador for Arab States H.R.H. Princess Lamia bint Majed Al Saud identified a rising trend of philanthropic giving and corporate social responsibility within the region’s private sector.A host of other events took place in parallel, including a local and regional governments’ roundtable, special sessions, and sessions on the Sustainable Development Goals in Action. Participants attended a reception and a concert in the evening.

IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports from WUF10. In addition, a summary report has also been produce in HTML and PDF.

Photos by IISD/ENB | Natalia Mroz

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Opening Plenary

The opening ceremony with hosts Won Ho and Youssef Abdulbari

Falah Mohammad Al Ahbabi, Chairman of the Department of Municipalities and Transport, Abu Dhabi

Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director, UN-Habitat 

Ashraf Ghani, President of Afghanistan

Frank Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji

Members of the press during the opening ceremony

António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, addresses WUF10 participants via video message.

Eduardo López Moreno, UN-Habitat

Martha Delgado, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mexico

Elisa Ferreira, European Commission

The audience during the opening ceremony

Opening of the WUF10 Exhibition

Falah Mohammad Al Ahbabi, UAE, and Maimunah Mohd Sharif, UN-Habitat, presided over the opening of the WUF10 Exhibition.

The high-level delegation opens the exhibition and meets participants.

Ministers Roundtable

Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Infrastructure Development, UAE

Moderator Joan Erakit

Seth Appleton, US Department of Housing and Urban Development

Fuad Muradov, State Committee on Work with Diaspora, Azerbaijan

Charles Griffith, Minister of Housing, Lands and Rural Development, Barbados

Participants confer during the ministerial roundtable.

Aleksei Ananich, Ministry of Architecture and Construction, Belarus

Noureddine Selmi, Minister of Equipment, Housing and Territorial Development, Tunisia

Maurice Dieudonné Bonanet, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Burkina Faso

Victor Kisob, UN-Habitat

Sustainable Urban Development in the Arab/MENA Region: 2nd Pan-Arab Urban Development Symposium

Mounir Tabet, UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

Haoliang Xu, Assistant Secretary-General, UN Development Programme

Jamila Mohammed Al Fandi, Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme

Mahmoud Sharawi, Minister of Local Development, Egypt

Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies

Sign language translation during the session

Maher Johan, Deputy Minister of Planning, Iraq

Questions from the floor

Launch of the SDG Project Assessment Tool: An innovative tool for inclusive, sustainable and effective urban projects

Neil Khor, UN-Habitat

Lewis Neal, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Naomi Hoogervorst, UN-Habitat

Dyfed Aubrey, UN-Habitat

Around the Venue

Participants pose for a group photo.

Earth Negotiations Bulletin is distributed around the venue.

A participant takes notes.

Participants pose for a photo.

Participants at WUF10's evening reception