Nairobi 28 June 2021 – The President of the 75^th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Volkan Bozkır, is visiting Kenya and will attend a high level review of UN-Habitat’s work critical work on sustainable urbanization.

The General Assembly President will meet Kenya’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta as well as the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure, Housing, Urban Development and Public Works, James Macharia and other high-level officials during his first official visit to Nairobi.

The President will deliver remarks at the opening segment of the High-Level Mid-Term Review Meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) to UN-Habitat. His statement will address the need for urban environments to build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic to build a more resilient and sustainable world for all.

The Mid Term Review meeting will look at the progress made by UN-Habitat, the UN agency which focuses on sustainable cities and towns, in implementing its four year Strategic Plan which began in 2020. The Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) convenes every two years and this meeting starting on 29 June will be its first open ended meeting convened in hybrid fashion with simultaneous interpretation in the six official UN languages. Delegations-based outside Kenya are participating virtually while Member States based in Nairobi are meeting at the UN compound in Gigiri. The General Assembly will attend the opening ceremony.

“This Mid Term Review of UN-Habitat’s work comes at a particularly critical time as cities are increasingly on the front lines facing challenges and finding solutions to many of the most serious global issues including the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis,” said UN-Habitat Executive Director, Ms Maiminah Mohd Sharif. “We are delighted that the President of the General Assembly has recognized the key importance of urban issues and will be speaking at this important meeting.”

The General Assembly President who will be in Kenya until 1 July, will also meet the UN-Habitat Executive Director as well as  Ms. Zainab Hawa Bangura, the Director-General of the United Nations Office in Nairobi, Ms. Inger Andersen, UN Environment Programme Executive Director, Ms. Agnes Kalibata, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to the 2021 Food Systems Summit and representatives of the UN Country Team in Kenya.