Minister for Public Works and Planning, Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, addressed the Ministerial Conference on Sustainable Urban Development, organized by the Union for the Mediterranean, held in the Croatian capital, Zagreb.

The Maltese government participated in the Union for the Mediterranean's political declaration, which aimed to develop a strategic action plan for sustainable urban development across the entire Mediterranean region. This declaration was included in the final conference document.

In his speech, the minister encouraged actions to be tailored to the goals and objectives of respective states to ensure that sustainable urban development plans are aligned with local characteristics. He emphasized that Malta has unique characteristics due to its size, and small states like Malta need to focus on local peculiarities.

Against this backdrop, Zrinzo Azzopardi said that the Maltese government will continue to prioritize its policy in favour of affordable housing together with other existing initiatives aimed at regenerating historical housing sites in the heart of towns and villages in Malta and Gozo.

He added that all countries with a coastline in the Mediterranean have common responsibilities and challenges and therefore must work together to address the climate change challenge by investing in more sustainable practices.