Amna bint Ahmed Al Rumaihi, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, participated in the 90th meeting of the Executive Office of the Council of Arab Ministers of Housing and Construction, which began today, Wednesday, at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States in Cairo, in the presence of Her Excellency Ambassador Fawzia bint Abdullah Zainal, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Arab Republic of Egypt and Permanent Representative to the League of Arab States.
In her speech, the Minister of Housing and Urban Planning stressed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s keenness to enhance joint Arab cooperation in the fields of housing and urban planning, and to work to develop policies and initiatives that ensure access to balanced and sustainable urban development. Noting the efforts of the sisterly Arab countries to achieve the goals and strategies related to the housing issue, which was reflected positively by achieving advanced levels of providing adequate housing and continuing sustainable urban development, praising the coordination role of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States to highlight these results in international forums.
Minister Al-Rumaihi explained that the Kingdom of Bahrain was able to achieve advanced levels in the housing file and provide social housing for citizens, thanks to the lofty visions of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of the country, may God protect and preserve him, and the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, may God protect him, in providing adequate housing for citizens and providing them with decent means of living.
She indicated that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning continues to work on developing housing policies and initiatives by expanding partnerships with the private sector and adopting innovative solutions that contribute to advancing housing projects and accelerating the pace of providing adequate housing, stressing that the partnership with the private sector, as a partner in providing adequate housing for citizens, has contributed to providing thousands of housing services to Bahraini families, whether through traditional paths in building cities. And residential complexes, or through financing options and housing projects implemented in partnership with the private sector through the government land development rights programme, praising the efficiency, resources and capabilities of the private sector that support adequate housing efforts for citizens.
During the meeting, the Executive Office of the Council of Arab Ministers of Housing and Construction discussed the mechanism for enhancing joint cooperation in housing and construction projects, developing social housing services and exchanging experiences and expertise to develop housing services in various member states, in addition to exchanging information between Arab countries about pioneering projects in the field of housing and urban development.
The Council also reviewed a number of topics on the agenda, including developments in the Kingdom of Bahrain’s hosting of the website of the Council of Arab Ministers of Housing and Construction, which aims to develop a database and information to activate the Council’s objectives, developments in the implementation of the eleventh goal of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which is related to “making cities and human settlements comprehensive, safe, resilient and sustainable,” and developments in cooperation with the United Nations Settlements Programme. Humanity, where the Council blessed the election of the United Arab Emirates to chair the General Assembly of UN-Habitat for the period (2026-2029).
The Council also reviewed Arab cooperation with regional groupings and foreign countries in the field of housing and construction, the implementation of the executive plan for the Arab Strategy for Housing and Urban Development, the new urban agenda and the 2030 Sustainable Development Plan, and the latest developments in the award of the Council of Arab Ministers of Housing and Construction, which is allocated to architects.
