Eastern Province Mayor heads Kingdom delegation to UN-Habitat Assembly

Mayor of the Eastern Province, Eng. Fahad Mohammad Aljubair headed the delegation representing Saudi Arabia at the second session of United Nations Habitat Assembly, held from 5 to 9 June 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya. The UN-Habitat Assembly is held by its governance body; the United Nations Human Settlements Programme and aimed to address several UN-Habitat strategic plans and demonstrate successful experiences, under the theme of the sustainable urban future through inclusive and effective multilateralism: achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in times of global crises.”

As part of the second session's agenda, Aljubair addressed the United Nations Habitat Assembly, and reflected on the urban renaissance in the Kingdom that began in the 1960s and strived to achieve excellent urban planning that has been reflected across all the Kingdom's regions to this day. Aljubair stressed the fact that development is an ongoing process in the Kingdom.

His Excellency Aljubair noted the Kingdom’s participation in Habitat III in 2016, in a delegation headed by His Excellency the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing. During the Conference, several crucial initiatives in the Kingdom were demonstrated. The initiatives focused on the well-being of the people and urban sustainability, which was a new stage of development.

Aljubair added: “in the same year, the Saudi Vision 2030 was launched, identifying goals and aspirations of paramount importance to the Kingdom and driving a major leap in the definition of the horizons we seek to reach and the dreams we are set to realize. Saudi Vision 2030 calls for the diversification of the economy, the emphasis on culture and entertainment, the creation of initiatives and plans that facilitate the ownership of homes by Saudi families, attraction of tourism and foreign investment, optimization of advanced technologies, and empowerment of women and youth.” the mayor stressed that the end goal is the improvement and elevation of the quality of life of Saudi citizens, residents and tourists.

His Excellency invited the world to collaborate in certain projects, notably Green Riyadh that is an essential part of the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI). The Green Riyadh project sets out to increase the proportion of green space from 1.5 to 9 percent and to plant 7.5 million trees by 2030. The other project open for international investment is the Jeddah Central Project, which is designed to preserve Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port city's rich heritage while embracing modernity.

Saudi Vision 2030 Housing Program was also among the topics discussed by Aljubair, that served more than 1.4 million Saudi families, within the objective providing Saudi families with access to appropriate housing, and to increase Saudis housing ownership to 70% by the end of 2030. The Housing Program offers several initiatives, subsidized packages, diverse residential products and options, and promotion of the supplied real estate. The mayor commended the Municipal Sector's covering of more than 40% of the services in the Saudi cities through 17 secretariates and 28 municipalities, playing a crucial role in the development and management of the cities. The Smart Cities Strategy was adopted by the Municipal Sector, to create more than 200 AI and data-based smart services across different sectors.

Aljubair extended the Kingdom’s appreciation for the efforts exerted by the UN-Habitat Programme in supporting all states, by sharing pioneering experiences and providing technical support that motivates everyone to cooperate in supporting the Programme in its implementation of its new 2027 Strategy.

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) calls for making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, and building key capacities to support the implementation of the 2030 New Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition, gender equality is a top priority of the UN-HABITAT that seeks to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. UN-Habitat Assembly members discuss its activities and review the new urban development plans and SDGs for 2030, to increase government and stakeholder participation and contributions in the Assembly in order to achieve the mutual goals and implement the 2030 New Urban Plan and the Sustainable Development Goals.