Sustainable cities cannot be built solely through state investments and policy frameworks, Orkhan Mammadov, Chairman of the Management Board of the Small and Medium Business (SMB) Development Agency of Azerbaijan said during the session titled “Strengthening the Role of Small and Medium Enterprises as Key Actors in Building Sustainable, Inclusive and Resilient Cities” held within the framework of WUF13, APA reports.
He stated that entrepreneurs, SMEs, startups, technology providers, architects, urban innovators and infrastructure builders — all of them play an important role in creating smarter, greener and more inclusive cities for future generations: “Azerbaijan is already making significant progress in this direction. Large-scale urban transformation projects, the implementation of ‘smart city’ and ‘smart village’ concepts, the expansion of ‘green zones,’ the modernization of urban infrastructure and reconstruction works in the liberated territories based on sustainability principles demonstrate the country’s commitment to innovative and future-oriented urban planning policies.”
Orkhan Mammadov noted that SMEs contribute not only to economic growth and employment, but also play an important role in innovation, green transition, digitalization, the development of local services and strengthening social inclusion within urban communities.
“We should especially note that urban planning initiatives implemented in the liberated territories under the leadership of our President envisage the construction of completely new settlements based on smart technologies, renewable energy solutions, modern infrastructure and environmental sustainability standards. For example, the ‘smart village’ project implemented in Aghali village has become one of the region’s first innovative settlement models. This model combines renewable energy, smart management systems, sustainable agriculture and digital public services. In addition, the large-scale reconstruction and urban planning works carried out in cities such as Shusha and Fuzuli once again demonstrate Azerbaijan’s commitment to building a modern and environmentally sustainable urban environment. For this reason, today’s panel discussions serve as an important platform for emphasizing the role of small and medium enterprises as key actors contributing to the formation of sustainable, inclusive and resilient cities. At the same time, these discussions serve to strengthen cooperation between state institutions, international organizations and, of course, the private sector,” he stated.
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