Arab Officials Hold Conference about Arab World Problems

Arab ministers of housing and construction held a meeting here to discuss implementation of resolutions of the Arab economic and social summits and address a host of issues such as securing housing for low-income citizens in Arab countries. Conferees are addressing various of other issues, namely experience of Arab countries in the sector of low-cost housing and experience exchange in this field among the Arab states. Addressing the opening session of the conference, Arab League Secretary General Nabil Al-Arabi called for greater cooperation among the Arab states at the level of housing strategies, affirmed necessity of pin pointing the shortcomings in housing strategy making and pooling necessary information in this regard.

Al-Arabi shed light, in particular, on the major issue; lack of housing for many poor Arabs, and called on strategists to design new plans to ensure residences for all segments of the Arab societies. Elaborating, the league chief underlined noticeable environmental damage, caused by expanding and rapid growth of construction in urban regions. Many agricultural lands have been lost due the expansion of urban areas, he added. He called for mapping out integrated policies to ensure construction would not be at the expense of well-being of the environment. He also urged for encouraging the private sector to contribute in managing construction ventures. Kuwait is taking part in the meetings with a delegation, headed by the General Director of the Public Authority for Housing Welfare Ali Al-Fozan.

Meanwhile, Saudi Minister of Housing Shuwaish Al-Duwaihi expressed his belief that the housing sector in the Arab world suffers from shortage of financing and contracting companies. "We also suffer from weak and old legislations concerning the construction of residential units," he added. Construction must be placed on top of priorities of Arab governments' development strategies, Al-Duwaihi said. The first Arab conference at this level was held in Cairo in 2010. Conferees had agreed on holding this meeting once every two years. The Saudi official indicated at necessity of implementing previously-adopted resolutions, partly concerning adoption of common construction codes. Adam Abdullah Al-Nour of Sudan called for placing the problem of securing housing for the poor as a top priority in the Arab states' development plans.