The Fourth Arab Ministerial Forum for Housing and Urban Development (AMFHUD), entitled “Towards Resilient Cities”, was launched in Amman on Tuesday, with the participation of 22 Arab countries.
The three-day forum aims to come up with the necessary solutions to establish a balance between the resources of cities and the challenges they face to increase their resilience, in addition to formulating informed policies, programs and plans that support urban development.
The event is organized by Jordan’s Housing and Urban Development Corporation in cooperation with the Arab States and the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat)/ the Regional Office for Africa and Arab States.
In an opening speech, Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh said that the forum comes at a time when the region and the world as a whole are grappling with extremely complex conditions and challenges, calling for innovative mechanisms to enhance Pan-Arab cooperation to bridge gaps and achieve sustainable development goals and other 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 the Arab countries to eventually arrive at safe, equitable, resilient and sustainable urban development.
Jordan, the Prime Minister noted, is a signatory to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which expressly states that the signatories “the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.”
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 eleventh goal on safe, resilient and sustainable cities.
Khasawneh also noted that the Kingdom has 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, 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 strained its infrastructure and services as a result of regional conflicts and an influx of refugees, not to mention scarce water and energy resources.
Thus, the Prime Minister added, the international community must 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.
For his part, Minister of Public Works and Housing Engineer Yahya Al-Kesbi 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.
Al-Kesbi affirmed that Jordan is committed to urban development to build a secure future for next generations, saying: “We are proud 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 Al-Attiyat, 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.
Al-Attiyat noted that the forum is discussing 4 main themes: “the legislative environment for regulating the growth and resilience of cities; urban planning and the resilience of cities; humanization of cities; and the role of partners in preserving cities.”
In a statement to Petra, Director of the Regional office for the Arab States at UN-Habitat, Erfan Ali, said that cities in the Arab region and in the Middle East as a whole are the regions most affected by climate change, adding: “This forum focuses on empowering Arab cities to face various challenges, including storms, floods, dust storms, and sea level rise.”
Source: Jordan News Agency