Engineer Bassem bin Yacoub Al Hamar, Minister of Housing, received HE Mr. Irfan Ali, Director of the Regional Office for Arab States of the United Nations Human Settlements Program "Habitat", in the presence of Dr. Amira El Hassan, Head of the UN-Habitat Office in the Gulf Cooperation Council, and Ms. Fernanda Lonardone, Director of External Relations at the United Nations Program For Human Settlements (Habitat), Department of Strategy, Knowledge and Innovation.
During the meeting, the Minister of Housing praised the constructive and fruitful cooperation that exists between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Nations Human Settlements Program, which brought fruitful results, most notably the preparation of the national report on the implementation of the new urban agenda, and the launch of the executive summary of the State of Arab Cities 2020 report in cooperation with the Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies (Studies), stressing that the Kingdom of Bahrain pays special attention to the principle of sustainable development, especially the eleventh goal related to building safe and stable cities and societies.
Al-Hamar indicated that the Ministry of Housing continues to develop its national plans in an innovative way to provide social housing solutions for Bahraini citizens, in line with the Economic Vision 2030 and the government's program, and in line with the periodic housing reports produced by UN-Habitat.
The Minister of Housing also reviewed the latest developments in the housing programs in the Kingdom of Bahrain, which were based on the results and recommendations of the National Housing Report prepared by UN-Habitat in 2018, highlighting the achievements made through the Mazaya Program, in addition to the various funds offered in cooperation with the Housing Bank. As well as planning to expand the rental sector and residential buildings projects in the Kingdom.
For his part, Mr. Irfan Ali praised the remarkable progress witnessed by the Kingdom of Bahrain in the field of urban development, stressing the program's keenness to invest the Kingdom of Bahrain's experience in this field and enhance cooperation in order to achieve the goals of sustainable development and prosperity for mankind. Expressing his appreciation for the updates related to the latest urban developments and various programs, stressing Habitat's readiness to continue providing services and support in the technical, engineering and other fields.
During the meeting, they discussed a number of files and issues of common interest, especially those related to urban development and the housing field, and ways to intensify and strengthen aspects of bilateral cooperation and coordination between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Regional Office for Arab States of the United Nations Human Settlements Program.
