The Ministry of Municipality and Housing is hosting the 20th meeting of Their Highnesses and Excellencies the Ministers concerned with housing affairs in the GCC countries.

Today, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing hosted the twentieth meeting of Their Highnesses and Excellencies the Ministers concerned with housing affairs in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, chaired by His Excellency the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, Mr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, at the Fairmont Hotel in the capital, Riyadh.

The meeting, which was attended by a number of senior officials in the ministries concerned with housing affairs in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, aimed to continue efforts to achieve the common goals on which the GCC was founded, to enhance the efforts of the Gulf housing sectors, and to raise the efficiency and quality of services provided to the citizens of the Gulf countries.

At the beginning of the meeting, His Excellency the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing welcomed the attendees, expressing his pleasure that the Kingdom was hosting the meeting in its current session, and stressing that the meeting reflects the interest and aspirations of the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries - may God protect them - for the housing sector and their belief in its vital role in driving sustainable development and urban renaissance and the benefit it brings to the quality of life of the Gulf citizen. He also stressed that all capabilities and efforts are harnessed to achieve the desired aspirations and hopes to keep pace with the development of the housing sector in a manner that is consistent with the constant development and accelerated work to build cities and residential suburbs and establish advanced housing projects and communities that provide the Gulf family with its needs and sufficiency and ensure its quality of life.

Al-Haqil affirmed that the joint Gulf action efforts in the housing sector have taken great strides in a short period, and have had a clear impact on the housing work process in the GCC countries through the (Joint Housing Action Strategy), which has strengthened the achievement of balance and sustainability, raised the level of housing quality, made optimal use of available capabilities, and combined and integrated efforts to drive the development of the housing sector towards broader horizons.

During the meeting, leaders of the housing sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries discussed several important topics to enhance the successes achieved in the joint Gulf action for the housing sector in the GCC countries, most notably housing efforts in confronting the repercussions of the Coronavirus pandemic, what has been done in the joint housing action strategy, ways of cooperation and sharing of Gulf housing information databases, the unified general system for property owners, ways to highlight Gulf housing work in regional forums, the GCC Housing Award, and other joint files that would develop Gulf housing work.

At the end of the meeting, Their Excellencies and Highnesses the Ministers announced their congratulations to the winners of the GCC Housing Work Award in its fourth session for the years 2021-2022, with the United Arab Emirates coming in first place with the Abu Dhabi Smart Lighting Project, and the State of Kuwait in second place with the research study on “Rainwater Drainage and Sustainability.” The State of Kuwait also came in third place with the project “Best Infrastructure in Existing Housing Projects.” Their Excellencies and Highnesses the Ministers honored the contributors and supporters of the housing sector from the private sector category, and the category of generous individuals.