A delegation from the Municipality and Planning Department – Ajman (MPDA) reviewed the best practices followed in the Urban Observatory in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on the sidelines of the delegation’s official visit to the Kingdom and participation in the Gulf Municipal Work (GMW) Conference.
Dr. Aseel Mansour Al Mansour, Director General of the General Administration of the Urban Observatory, received the delegation topped by Dr. Eng. Mohammed Ahmed bin Omair Al Muhairi, the MPDA’s Executive Director of the Infrastructure Development Sector, voicing her pride in consolidating relations and keenness to build bridges of joint cooperation to exchange brilliant expertise and experiences in the field of smart urban observation, and discussing opportunities to enhance mutual coordination to achieve the goals desired.
The meeting reviewed the organizational structure of the Observatory, work programs, mechanisms and policies, the urban database, urban indicators, and identified development priority issues.
Mansour said that the Kingdom is one of the first countries to respond to the follow-up of the work and recommendations of the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) to establish urban observatories to assess the conditions and trends of global urbanization, through the production of urban indicators and measuring the sustainable urban development of the Kingdom’s cities. A number of cities and governorates in various regions across the Kingdom have started establishing local urban observatories with the support and assistance of the UN-Habitat’s Global Urban Observatory (GUO), pointing out that the Council of Ministers issued a decision to establish an organizational unit in the Ministry of Municipal Rural Affairs and Housing called the “National Urban Observatory”, which produced urban indicators and made them available to policymakers, decision-makers, leaders, and other stakeholders, achieving honorable results and moving forward on the path of comprehensive and integrated development.
For his part, Omair praised the Observatory’s efforts and tireless work over the past years, stressing the MPDA’s aspiration to launch joint projects and initiatives that serve the interests of both parties.
