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Qabil Ashirov

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Asian Development Bank has said that the current platform has become an important cooperation mechanism between the UN system and multilateral development banks, including ADB itself, describing the initiative as timely and highly relevant amid growing global urban challenges, AzerNEWS reports.

Speaking at a WUF13 side event titled “From Global Housing Finance to Local Affordable Housing Agendas: Leveraging Global Development and Subnational Finance,” Noriyo Saito emphasized that housing policy extends far beyond the social sector, linking directly to urban development, climate resilience, financing, and governance.

He noted that rapid urbanization across Asia and the Pacific continues to reshape economies, with cities serving as key engines of economic growth, employment, and innovation. However, he added that these same cities are also where housing affordability pressures are most severe, particularly for low-income households, migrants, informal workers, and residents of informal settlements.

According to Saito, the central challenge is not simply increasing financial resources but ensuring that financing is effectively targeted. He explained that development finance has traditionally supported separate elements of the housing value chain, such as mortgages, infrastructure, construction, and urban upgrading. However, he stressed that housing must instead be treated as an integrated system involving land use, planning, infrastructure, basic services, regulation, household finance, and institutional coordination.

The Asian Development Bank, he added, has allocated $1.7 billion to the housing sector over the past five years, while demand for housing-related investment continues to rise.