The Ministers of Development and Housing, the Governor of Cairo, and the United Nations are following up on Egypt’s preparations for hosting the World Urban Forum
Dr. Manal Awad, Minister of Local Development, Eng. Sherif El-Sherbiny, Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities,
And Dr. Ibrahim Saber, Governor of Cairo, held a meeting with Annaclaudia Rosbach. Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, at the headquarters of the Al-Manara International Conference Center to follow up on the ongoing preparations for Egypt’s hosting of the World Urban Forum at its twelfth session, “WUF12”, next November, in cooperation with “Habitat”, in the presence of Dr. Abdel Khaleq Ibrahim, Assistant Minister of Housing for Technical Affairs, Dr. Rania Hadiya, Regional Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, Ambassador Atef Salem, General Coordinator of the World Urban Forum, Dr. Hisham Al-Helbawy, Assistant Minister of Local Development for National Projects, and Ambassador Hossam Qawish, Assistant Minister of Local Development for International Cooperation. After the meeting, a number of officials from the organizing company GCM, officials from the Al-Manara Center and a number of leaders from the Information Systems Department of the Armed Forces toured the Al-Manara International Conference Center to inspect the ongoing logistical preparations to host the forum and passed through some of the pavilions of the participating countries and institutions, the registration tent, the main gates, and the entrances. The various halls area, and the main hall for holding the forum.
Anacladia Rossbach congratulated Engineer Sherif El-Sherbiny and Dr. Manal Awad for assuming the housing and local development portfolios in the new government. Expressing its appreciation for the long partnership between Egypt and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, “Habitat”. (For nearly 15 years), and Egypt’s continuous support and hosting of the Regional Office for Arab States and the Egypt Office.
The Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations also expressed her happiness with the ongoing cooperation with the government. Egyptian projects in a number of projects in various fields related to urbanization, including the new national urban policy approved by Egypt and its great potential to contribute to urbanization and national development, in addition to the long-standing and established cooperation in the field of advanced urban planning and design tools in cities of a special nature. With the aim of creating a new comprehensive competitive system for Egyptian cities, in addition to close cooperation in improving detailed planning and land management tools, improving land-based financing and capturing value.
For its part, she stressed Dr. Manal Awad, the great interest that Egypt attaches to the outcome of the next edition of the World Urban Forum in a manner befitting the Egyptian state in terms of the number of events and sessions in light of the great international momentum in the presence of a group of heads of state, regional and international governments, and participating delegations representing companies, local community leaders, city planners, and civil society. , stressing that Egypt has adopted a comprehensive strategy that emerges from Egypt Vision 2030 and the National Urban Agenda for 2022, that achieves integration between them, and aims to achieve sustainable and balanced urban development, ensuring that the needs of current and future generations are met, and bridging the gap between urban and rural areas through the presidential initiative " “A decent life”, as well as eliminating slums and dangerous areas through slum development projects and bridging the gap between Upper Egypt and Greater Cairo through the local development program in Upper Egypt.
The Minister of Development indicated She pointed out that the forum is the second largest event on the United Nations agenda, and the largest global platform for discussing sustainable urban development, adding that hosting the 12th session of the forum, which launches under the slogan “Everyone starts from the local scale – local action for sustainable cities and communities,” reflects Clearly, Egypt’s pioneering and strategic role at the international and regional levels as a center for development, urbanization and peace, and an indication of the exceptional development made by the Egyptian state during the past 10 years under the leadership of His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, in advancing the file of integrated urban and urban development, being one of the first countries to adopt the urban agenda. And implemented many huge national and urban projects that enhanced the quality of life for all segments of society.
Dr. Manal Awad explained that Egypt aims, through the forum, to highlight the issue of sustainable urban development. In the country during the past ten years, especially the Decent Life Project, which was launched by President Sisi in 2019, and was classified as the largest humanitarian initiative and the largest development project in the world aimed at bridging the gap between urban and rural areas, and the successes the project witnessed in developing about 1,470 villages and providing all services and facilities. Its own land within the first phase of the project, in addition to providing the lands required for the second phase of the project to complete all the goals set by the state that guarantees a decent life for its citizens at all levels.
The Minister said Local development: The urban exhibition is one of the most important events that the World Urban Forum will witness, which will have an Egyptian pavilion at the highest level of organization to display the exceptional Egyptian experience in urban development at the republic level, as the governorates display the extent of the change that has taken place on the ground in safe construction and facilities.
He stressed Engineer Sherif El-Sherbiny said that the World Urban Forum represents a great opportunity to showcase the pioneering Egyptian experience in achieving a comprehensive urban renaissance in various parts of Egypt during the past few years, and since President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi took office, both in the field of providing housing units of various types to suit different segments of citizens, And the development of unsafe areas, the development of dozens of fourth-generation cities, and the great boom in the utilities and infrastructure sector.
The Minister of Housing indicated that a ministerial meeting will be held on the sidelines of the forum. The meeting was extended to African housing ministers, in response to their requests to learn about the Egyptian urban experience, and to benefit from the great expertise and potential of Egyptian contracting companies and real estate developers. A full week will also be organized before the forum to focus on what Egypt has accomplished in the field of urban development.
Engineer Sherif El-Sherbiny also stressed the Egyptian state’s keenness to organize and conduct the World Urban Forum well, which is the second largest event on the United Nations agenda, after the United Nations Climate Change Conference, where cooperation takes place between the ministries and concerned authorities. In the country to organize the forum to show the civilized face of the Egyptian state, achieve the highest benefit from this global event, and continue the path of the Egyptian state’s success in organizing and hosting global conferences, as it achieved great success in hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference, in its 27th edition “COP27”. In the city of Sharm El-Sheikh.
The Minister of Housing explained that Egypt will be the first African country to host the World Urban Forum since the inaugural session in Nairobi, Kenya, and the second Arab country after Abu Dhabi hosted the session. The tenth forum is the first global platform on the international agenda, which is concerned with addressing all aspects, sectors and fields of sustainable urban development.
For his part, Dr. Ibrahim Saber, Governor of Cairo, indicated that During the past period, the governorate witnessed unprecedented urban development in the areas of infrastructure, housing, eliminating slums, and developing the road network, without which Cairo would have turned into a large garage, adding that the development work has strengthened Cairo’s ability to host such global events related to urban development goals, which gives The World Urban Forum is a kind of difference, multiplicity, and diversity and reflects the importance of urban development in Egypt and its interest in urban and development issues.
The Governor of Cairo confirmed that the governorate is targeting, during the Forum’s many activities, including Cairo Urban Week, Introducing these achievements and reviewing the governorate’s ancient historical legacy, as the governorate seeks to transform Cairo into an open museum, indicating that all governorate agencies aim to work on making the forum’s activities a success in cooperation with the ministries and bodies involved in organizing the event, most notably the United Nations Human Settlements Program (Habitat). In cooperation with the Ministries of Housing and Local Development.
Dr. Ibrahim Saber also confirmed that Cairo will review during the forum the experience of eliminating slum areas in the capital, which constituted one of the major challenges that the state has succeeded in achieving. In implementation of the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, it presented a distinctive model in the field of creating new urban communities with integrated services, in which the lives of nearly a million citizens were changed and they were transferred to fully civilized and furnished housing units.
