As part of the official visit of Her Excellency Ms. Amna bint Ahmed Al Rumaihi, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, to the People's Republic of China, a memorandum of understanding was signed to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two friendly countries in the field of exchanging technical expertise in the social housing sector. The MoU was signed on the Bahraini side by Her Excellency the Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, and on the Chinese side by His Excellency Mr. Ni Hong, Minister of Housing, Urban and Rural Development.
The memorandum comes within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and aims to exchange expertise and cooperation in multiple areas of housing, including the use of smart construction methods, employing energy-efficient building materials, and providing the latest security and safety standards and technical and engineering standards in housing projects. It also includes exchanging knowledge in the field of regulating the real estate market, engaging the private sector in providing social housing projects, redeveloping old residential projects and buildings, and managing residential communities.
The minister emphasized that the MoU will contribute to enhancing bilateral cooperation, exchanging experiences and benefiting from China's leading expertise in the housing sector, in line with the ministry's plans to develop its mechanisms in providing housing services to citizens, project management and post-use services. She pointed to the successful state visit of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to the People's Republic of China last May, which witnessed the signing of a number of memorandums of understanding and cooperation agreements in various development sectors
For his part, HE Mr. Ni Hong, Minister of Housing and Urban and Rural Development of the Republic of China, expressed his happiness at the signing of the MoU, praising the growing urban development in the Kingdom, especially in the social housing sector, stressing his keenness to enhance cooperation and exchange visits to develop joint relations to enrich housing policies and plans in both countries.
The two sides also held an expanded working meeting to discuss ways of cooperation in various fields of the social housing sector and develop relations to enhance the outputs of housing plans, diversify housing options, and accelerate the provision of adequate housing for citizens. During the meeting, the Bahraini delegation reviewed the Ministry's initiatives and programs in providing housing services to citizens, in addition to the promising investment opportunities in providing housing services in the Kingdom, especially for real estate developers through the government land development rights program in partnership with the private sector.
The meeting was attended by HE Dr. Mohammed Ghassan Sheikho, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Republic of China, Mr. Christopher Calvert, CEO of Bahrain Real Estate Investment Company (Edama), Engineer Balsam Al Salman, Assistant Undersecretary for Engineering Affairs, Mr. Khalid Salman Al Qasimi, Director of the Industrial Development Department at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and a number of officials from both sides.
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