BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 2. Uzbekistan and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) held a roundtable to discuss urbanization and housing sector development.
This was announced in a statement published by the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan following a meeting with Katja Schaefer, UN-Habitat’s Interregional Adviser for Eastern Europe, and housing and urban development expert Karolina Gulordava, alongside representatives from several institutions and research bodies.
According to the ministry, the talks focused on expanding access to decent and energy-efficient housing, improving infrastructure quality, strengthening social inclusion, promoting integrated territorial development, and advancing sustainable urban planning practices.
The ministry announces that the attendees included officials from the Central Bank, the National Agency for Social Protection, the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services, the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, the Center for Economic Research and Reforms, and other agencies involved in urban planning and housing oversight.
During the discussions, officials reviewed the progress of a pilot project currently being developed in Samarkand with support from UN-Habitat.
"During the roundtable discussion, participants focused on such pressing issues as creating a decent and energy-efficient housing stock in the context of Uzbekistan's population growth and economic reforms, ensuring quality infrastructure, social inclusiveness, integrated territorial development, and introducing sustainable urban planning approaches," the ministry said in the statement.
At the conclusion of the event, the parties stressed that housing policy goes beyond construction and plays a key role in improving living standards and supporting family well-being. Officials said the dialogue would help shape more effective solutions for building safer, more inclusive, and sustainable urban spaces across Uzbekistan.
