Bahrain delegation attends ceremony marking World Urban Day 2018

Liverpool, Oct. 31 (BNA): United Nations Secretary - General Antonio Guterres today inaugurated the World Urban Day 2018 at the St. George Hall in Liverpool, in the United Kingdom, under the theme "Building Sustainable and Flexible Cities". The Kingdom of Bahrain participated in this international celebration with a delegation including His Highness Sheikh Hussam bin Isa Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Committee of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa Award for Sustainable Development, and Dr. Mohammed Bin Dinah, Executive Chairman of the Supreme Council for the Environment. Addressing the event, Shaikh Hussam bin Essa Al Khalifa conveyed the greetings and appreciation of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister, to the participants in the ceremony, asserting that His Highness, as a pioneering leader has always given top priority to achieving sustainable development. He said Bahrain was recognized as pioneering nation in term of achieving the Millennium Development Goals and creating an environment for conducive and effective implementation of the goals of sustainable development. He said that the efforts exerted by His Royal Highness the Prime Minister to improve the quality of life for citizens received international recognition in appreciation of his efforts in the areas of sustainable and urban development. He pointed out that HRH has been honored with many international awards, including the Scroll of Honor Award for Outstanding Achievement from the United Nations Human Settlements Program, 2006. He also underlined the initiative His Highness had made as to the launch the Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa Human Settlements Award to encourage urban development efforts and sustainable development around the world. Shaikh Hossam bin Isa Al Khalifa stressed the importance of His Royal Highness the Prime Minister's interest in promoting international cooperation in the field of sustainable development, stressing its role in improving the lives of peoples and communities. He cited his message on Habitat Day last September, in which he called for "the solidarity of the international community to achieve the goals of sustainable development 2030 adopted by the United Nations through a comprehensive vision that contributes to the acceleration of the pace of transforming development plans and programs in all countries, especially the most needy countries. He praised the theme of this year's World Cities Day, "Building Sustainable and Flexible Cities", stressing that it is an important slogan in its timing as it reflects the need to deal with the urban challenges facing sustainable development. He called for focusing attention on a number of important in order to build sustainable and flexible cities, particularly the ability of cities to provide their services in an effective manner. He also highlighted the need to cope with emerging issues and responding quickly to emergencies, disasters and disasters as well as providing innovative solutions to chronic housing and environmental and social problems, combating poverty, stimulating economy and changing consumption patterns. At the conclusion of the event, Shaikh Hussam presented appreciation shields to Ms. Mimouna Mohamed Sharif, Director General of UN-HABITAT and Mr. Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool, for their efforts in terms of sustainable development locally and internationally. A number of specialized workshops were held during the celebration, during which a number of topics related to the theme of World Urban Day 2018, "Building Sustainable and Flexible Cities" were discussed in terms of economic, urban and environmental issues.