The United Nations in Kuwait, in partnership with the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development, the Ministry of Public Works, the Kuwait Municipality, the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research and the Environment Public Authority, in cooperation with UN-Habitat and the United Nations Development Program, held a webinar on “Urban Development and Future Cities: Towards rebuilding a better phase after COVID-19 Kuwait”
As part of the global dialogue series on the anniversary of the creation of the United Nations,” UN75TALK, to constructively exchange ideas for sustainable urban development based on the foundations of Kuwait Vision 2035.
The symposium began with a speech from the Representative of United Nations Secretary General and Resident Coordinator in the State of Kuwait, Dr. Tariq Al-Sheikh, said: “While the world is facing many setbacks, the prosecution of Covid-19 and the economic crisis, the huge urban development projects in Kuwait have not stopped due to the outbreak of the epidemic or the economic halt. The urbanization that the state has implemented in recent months has been used to advance and invest in building highways and bridges, and rebuilding and renewing old roads.”
He added, “This epidemic also provided an opportunity for the Kuwaiti government to upgrade its e-government platforms by providing Internet services in the areas of government services, political departments, and schools, and medical services, from recruitment to consultancy level, at the private sector level. It has been observed that many private services have been offered to clients, from consulting to examination in the health sector, which is the standard for smart cities. Some countries around the world have faced some chaos as a result of this pandemic.
However, Kuwait has not neglected its humanitarian efforts and assistance to other countries of the world in rebuilding their cities and infrastructure, and has also successfully maintained the security of citizens. This was especially true for residents in residential and other areas where safety and security were the government’s top priority.”
Dr. Tariq Al-Sheikh added that the Kuwait government has shown tremendous transparency since the day the epidemic was announced in the country and throughout the entire period, announcing the latest developments about the ongoing situation of the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic, its effective and rapid response plan, and what the government is seeking as solutions. Not only in the medical field but also in the development arena, Kuwait continued to inform citizens about development projects that have not stopped. ”
He remarked, “Finally, we at the United Nations commend the efforts of the State of Kuwait and its generosity in its continuous humanitarian efforts, as the epidemic, which has caused a major setback in the world did not stop the country’s humanitarian role, while addressing the outbreak of the epidemic and advancing development projects in the country, the State of Kuwait helped Sudan to overcome the effects of the floods, the donations for the Beirut explosion and their generous donation to the World Health Organization to support the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.”
On her part, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Program, Mrs. Maymouna Mohamed Sharif, expressed the importance of this symposium at these critical times the world is going through after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. We are experiencing new developments, its severe impact and its dire social and economic consequences in the medium and long term, including challenges at all levels.”
In her speech, Maymouna Sharif stressed the urgent need to enhance social cohesion and build trust through collective dialogues and partnerships between the public and private sectors during the city reconstruction process, as the vast majority of countries in the world have been affected by this pandemic and the world’s cities bear the brunt of this crisis. This also showed that cities are the main axis of innovation, solidarity and resilience.”
The Vice President of the United Nations Development Program and Director of the Office of Policies and Programs, Mr. Haoliang Xu, continued, “The United Nations Development Program has succeeded globally in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises to implement new business models related to the achievement of the sustainable development goals, called the Sustainable Development Goals Accelerator in “Countries in Europe and Asia. I am pleased to announce that the United Nations Development Program is financing and technically supporting a pilot project on this initiative in 2020 as part of our efforts to join hands to overcome the challenges facing the Commission.”
This was followed by the opening of the virtual symposium, which was a brainstorming session to exchange ideas about the future of the State of Kuwait after the coronavirus pandemic ends and the requirements of the new phase of future cities. The following points were examined during the discussion:
1) What are the reform programs and policies that can be followed for a more integrated planning of the city and for people’s well-being in the context of the post-pandemic era?
2) What innovations have been introduced that will be introduced to the cities of the future based on the experiences of COVID-19?
3) What opportunities can deepen public-private partnerships to improve services (waste management, recycling, urban infrastructure)?
The axis started with the reference of the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development Dr. Khaled Mahdi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development, who said that “innovations are not related to technology only, but apply to processes and the participation of people in inclusive governance and urban planning. Covid-19 accelerates innovative thinking and different ways of governance, and outlines a plan for the future. ”
Mr. Imran Hayat, a representative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, participated and touched on the importance of smart cities and the fluctuating private sector.
Speaking on the topic, Samira Al-Sayed Omar, Director General of the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, on green and comprehensive recovery for a resilient future and mitigating the effects of the Climate Change.
For his part, Dr. Abdullah Al-Zaidan, Deputy Director General of the Kuwait Environment Public Authority pointed out that what are we learning from COVID-19 is to create future cities.
At the conclusion of the symposium, Ms. Maymouna indicated that the Covid-19 epidemic did not affect the progress made in implementing the Kuwaiti development plan. On the contrary, the government of Kuwait was able to positively benefit from the period of its suspension and invest in developing the country’s infrastructure, including the renewal of high roads and the construction of new bridges, in addition to expanding technological advances”
She stated, “In terms of improving e-government services and e-learning, as well as e-health services provided by the Ministry of Health to implement the Kuwait Vision 2035, which aims to build a prosperous and sustainable country in the twenty-first century, and upholds seven pillars that reflect the government’s commitment to responding to both local needs and aspirations and to achieve the goals of the 2030 Sustainable Development Plan.”
“For Kuwait to build smart, resilient, safe and environmental future cities, assessing progress made at the local level through the establishment of urban observatories can be a good starting point. Public-private partnerships are critical to achieving sustainable development and improving services. COVID-19 is a reminder of the need for collaboration, learning through knowledge and its exchange across borders, sectors and generations. Our collective response will determine how quickly cities recover, and how well we deal with pressing challenges,” Ms. Maymouna noted.
A question-and-answer segment followed the end of the speeches, which allowed the audience members to interact. A short video was shown on the aspirations of Kuwaiti youth and children, and their wishes for “Kuwait 2035”.