STATEMENT BY HON. ALICE WAHOME, EGH; THE CABINET SECRETARY FOR LANDS, PUBLIC WORKS, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT DURING THE FIRST SESSION OF THE

1 Michal Mlynár and the secretariat, the Ad-hoc committees, and the Bureau of the Executive Board for the excellent preparations for this session. [...] On the other hand, I take cognizance of the extensive work undertaken by UN-Habitat towards the preparations of the forum and thank them for working together with Member States, local governments, and stakeholders in the preparation of the event. [...] I believe that the UN-Habitat will continue to advocate and track the progress of commitments contained in the Katowice Declared Actions, as set out in the outcome document of the eleventh session of the World Urban Forum, held in Katowice, Poland, in June 2022. [...] The program budget implication remains an important signpost to guide resource mobilization for the implementation of the resolutions adopted at the second session and one of the benchmarks against which the success of implementation can be assessed. [...] We urge UN-Habitat to work with Member States and other partners towards the implementation of the initiative, with the aim of enhancing the resilience of the urban poor to shocks precipitated by climate change.