4th Arab Ministerial Forum for Housing, Urban Development kicks off

AMMAN — The Fourth Arab Ministerial Forum for Housing and Urban Development (AMFHUD), titled “Towards Resilient Cities”, kicked off in Amman on Tuesday with the participation of 22 Arab countries.

The three-day forum aims to come up with solutions to establish a balance between a city’s resources and the challenges they face, in addition to formulating informed policies, programmes and plans that support urban development, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The event is organised by Jordan’s Housing and Urban Development Corporation in cooperation with the Arab States and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)/ the Regional Office for Africa and Arab States.

In an opening speech, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Bisher Al Khasawneh said that the forum comes at a time when the region and the world as a whole are facing extremely complex conditions and challenges, calling for innovative mechanisms to enhance pan-Arab cooperation to bridge gaps and achieve sustainable development goals and development agendas.

Khasawneh called for more action to ensure the sustainability of cities, preserve the environment, and support the housing and urban development sectors in Arab countries to eventually arrive at safe, equitable, resilient and sustainable urban development.

He noted that Jordan remains committed to relevant international instruments, such as the commitments arising from the “Habitat III” conference in Quito in 2016 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially the 11th goal on safe, resilient and sustainable cities.

Khasawneh also noted that the Kingdom ratified the Arab Strategy for Housing and Sustainable Urban Development 2030 and its implementation plan, not to mention its commitment to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in 2015 and the “Environmentally Friendly Cities Forum”, which was launched by Jordan and adopted as a regional initiative in the Mediterranean countries.

The prime minister also cited Jordan’s 2025 Document, as one of its goals stipulating “achieving the welfare of the citizen and improving basic services to build a balanced society in which opportunities are available to all segments, and the gap between governorates is bridged”.

Khasawneh told the participants that Jordan is facing enormous pressures that have consumed its infrastructure and services as a result of regional conflicts and the hosting of refugees, not to mention scarce water and energy resources.

In this regard, he urged the international community to formulate effective and inclusive plans that lead to broad development to ensure an equitable life for all, calling for a multidisciplinary approach to reach a situation that balances the potential of cities and the challenges they face.

Minister of Public Works and Housing Yahya Kisbi said that successful cities are those that provide permanent access to health and educational services, housing and public utilities, and have low crime, poverty, unemployment and pollution rates.

Kisbi affirmed that Jordan is committed to urban development to build a secure future for next generations, expressing pride that “there are no people without shelter in Jordan and that the majority of the urban and rural population has access to basic infrastructure services, including water, electricity and roads”.

Director of the Housing and Urban Development Corporation Jumana Atiyyat said that the forum is looking mainly at how to build resilient Arab cities that respond efficiently to climate change, disaster risks and epidemics, and meet an increasing demand for basic services, most importantly decent housing.