Post-war reconstruction discussed at special session of World Urban Forum

Poland’s Katowice, within the XI session of the World Urban Forum (WUF11), has hosted a special session dedicated to the restoration of communities after the war and natural disasters.

According to Report’s correspondent sent to Poland to participate in the World Urban Forum, the discussions were initiated by the host country of WUF11, Poland, in connection with the consequences of the war in Ukraine.

Minister of Funds and Regional Policy of Poland Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak noted the particular relevance of this topic for the region after the Russian aggression in Ukraine.

She said that the war in Ukraine has led to the flow of Ukrainian refugees to Poland and other European countries, who "are forced to seek a safe life, leaving their homes, property, losing their earnings." The war also leads to the destruction of the infrastructure of Ukrainian cities.

The session was attended by Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT) Maimunah Mohd Sharif. She noted that given "the global challenges of today, our future is under threat."

She noted that "post-war reconstruction is not only the restoration of buildings and infrastructure, it is, first of all, the restoration of communities", the renewal of contacts within them. "Any conflict creates an atmosphere of distrust that must be overcome by gradually restoring ties between communities," she said, noting that the bridge in Bosnian Mostar is a vivid example of this.

The executive director of UN-Habitat thanked Poland for discussing such a topical issue during the session of the World Urban Forum.

The special session was also attended by Chairman of the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture of Azerbaijan Anar Guliyev and Special Representative of the President of Azerbaijan for the Shusha district Aydin Karimov.