In May 2026, during the thirteenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku, Azerbaijan, UN-Habitat and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a four-year strategic partnership running until February 2030.

The agreement provides a framework for collaboration on urban planning, affordable housing, water and sanitation, and climate-resilient urbanization across Asia and the Pacific. It strengthens UN-Habitat’s Strategic Plan 2026–2029 by linking its normative and technical expertise with ADB’s financing capacity and regional reach, supporting the scaling of integrated, people-centred urban development solutions.

“This agreement marks an important milestone in our collaboration to advance adequate housing and sustainable urban development across Asia and the Pacific. The challenges facing cities today are too complex, too interconnected, and too urgent to be addressed by any one institution alone,” said Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of UN-Habitat.

“We see strong complementarity between ADB’s financing capacity and UN-Habitat's global mandate, technical knowledge, and convening role. The value of this MOU lies in its practical orientation – giving us a framework to move from shared priorities to joint action,” said Norio Saito, Senior Director, Water and Urban Development Sector Office, ADB.

The partnership reflects a shared commitment to strengthening sustainable, inclusive, and climate-resilient urban development across Asia and the Pacific, and to translating shared priorities into concrete action on the ground.

Cover photo: © UN-Habitat