Baku: On March 12, 2025, the “WUF13 NGO Coalition” was established at the initiative of the Azerbaijan National NGO Forum, APA reports. The founding conference, conducted in a hybrid format, saw the participation of 25 foreign NGOs from 18 different countries.

According to Azeri-Press News Agency, the Azerbaijan National NGO Forum, known for its role as the flagship of national NGOs, represented Azerbaijan in the Coalition. Ramil Iskandarli, the Chairman of the Forum’s Board, expressed gratitude to the foreign NGO representatives for their quick response to Azerbaijan’s initiative and their readiness to engage in close cooperation.

Recently, the Azerbaijan National NGO Forum initiated the creation of a coalition of foreign NGOs, aiming to participate in the 13th World Urban Forum (WUF13) scheduled to be held in Baku in 2026. An online meeting was organized on February 28, 2025, with NGOs from Switzerland, Italy, and Benin to hold initial consultations. During this meeting, NGOs that had participated in the WUF12 Forum in Cairo, Egypt, in 2024, praised the Azerbaijani NGOs’ initiative.

The restructured Azerbaijan National NGO Forum has been evolving into an international platform since 2024. In that year, the Forum established the COP29 NGO Coalition, which comprises over 500 NGOs from nearly 100 countries.