The President of the 76th session of the General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, met with Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Under Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN-Habitat on 29 November 2021.
During the meeting, Ms. Sharif emphasized that cities and urban settlements are where the SDGs and the Paris Agreement are localized, and reiterated UN-Habitat’s support for the PGA’s preparations for the High-level Meeting to assess implementation of the New Urban Agenda, to be convened in the UN General Assembly on 28 April 2021. She also highlighted the extent of support she has witnessed from Heads of State and Government and stakeholders regarding the urgent need to upscale action on sustainable urbanization.
President Shahid thanked Ms. Sharif for UN-Habitat’s support for the High-Level Meeting’s preparations, and expressed his optimism, grounded in his Presidency of Hope, that the 76th session would be a turning point for accelerated action on sustainable urbanization. He further stressed that this was an urgent international priority, given that meeting the 1.5 degrees target of the Paris Agreement would only be possible with rapidly upscaled action in cities. The President also noted that the informal briefing with Member States scheduled on 30 November in the General Assembly Hall would be an opportunity to solicit inputs and views towards the High-Level Meeting, and thanked the Executive Director for her participation at the Briefing.
The meeting took place in the President’s office at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
