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Minutes of the 2nd Meeting of the Bureau
of Asia Pacific Ministers Conference on Housing and Urban Development (APMCHUD)
Venue
:
Amman, Jordan
Participants :
Chairperson,
Bureau of APMCHUD and
Minister
for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation
Republic
of India
Minister of Public Works and Housing,
Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan
Vice
Minister for Housing and Cities
Islamic Republic of Iran
Ambassador
of Malaysia
Amman,
Jordan
First
Secretary, Embassy of Republic of Azerbaijan
Amman,
Jordan
Mr.
Sunil Kumar Singh
Joint
Secretary (Housing) Govt. of India and
Chief
Coordinator, Bureau of APMCHUD
Mr.
Markandey Rai
Coordinator,
Global Parliamentarians
UN-HABITAT,
Nairobi
Mr. Ali
Shabou
Chief
of UN-HABITAT Office in Amman
India
Mr. R.
Dayakar
Ambassador
of India
Mr. K L
Dhingra
Chairman
and Managing Director,
Housing
and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO)
Mr.
Manoj Aggarwal
PS to
Honourable Minister, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation
Government
of India
Dr. P.
Jayapal
Executive
Director (Urban and Regional Planning)
Housing
and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO)
Mr.
Rajesh Goel
Deputy
Chief (Corporate Planning)
Housing
and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO)
Iran
Mr.
Sadeq Sadegpur
Expert
in International Cooperation
Ministry
of Housing and Cities, Iran
Jordan
Mr.
Shehadah Abu Hdaib
Directror
General
Housing
and Urban Development Corporation (HUDC), Jordan
Arch.
Suleiman Hassanat
Senior
Director of Housing Policies, HUDC
Arch.
Mai Asfour
Director
General Consultant for Foreign Affairs and
International
Cooperation, HUDC
Highlighting the need for
extensive sharing of knowledge and experiences among the member countries, the
Chairperson informed that an exclusive website for APMCHUD (http://www.apmchud.com/)
has been developed by the Interim Secretariat of the Bureau.
This initial version of the web-site attempts to provide information on
the APMCHUD activities at large. The chairperson requested all member countries
to give their valuable suggestions for improving the web-site in terms of its
contents, information base, and presentation mode to make it more useful
informative and interactive.
She further indicated
that the Interim Secretariat had prepared a draft concept note incorporating an
action plan to facilitate a focussed approach towards achieving the ambitious
agenda set in the Delhi Declaration, which would be discussed in detail in this
meeting.
The Chairperson also
congratulated Mr. Hdaib, Director General, HUDC on being conferred the Royal
Medal from the His Majesty the King of Jordan,
in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the field of housing
and urban development in Jordan.
Briefly outlining the
major decisions taken in the first
meeting of the Bureau held at Nairobi on 15th April, 2007,
the Chairperson explained about the actions taken thereon.
After the introductory
remarks of the Chairperson, the members joined the Chairperson in formally
launching the website of APMCHUD (http://www.apmchud.com/).
The Chief Coordinator of the Interim Secretariat of the Bureau, Mr. S.K. Singh
demonstrated live, the contents of the website. It was noted that this interactive website, provides complete
details on the background of the
APMCHUD Conference held at Delhi in December, 2006, constitution of the Bureau
of the APMCHUD, details of the various meetings held at Delhi and Nairobi and
the relevant documents such as Delhi Declaration of APMCHUD and the Enhanced
Framework of Implementation for Sustainable Urbanisation in Asia-Pacific.
The site also provides online linkages to various important websites of
relevant Institutions such as UN-Habitat, UN-ESCAP, SAARC, ASEAN, Asian
Development Bank, Pacific Islands Forum, and ECO.
This effort of the Interim Secretariat in developing the web-site was
applauded by the members of the
Bureau.
The Honourable Vice Minister from Iran, Mr. Monoucher Kajeh Dalloui, in his remarks appreciated the sincere efforts being put by India towards the evolution of APMCHUD as a vibrant mechanism for regional cooperation in the sector. Explaining the on-going preparatory arrangements for the forthcoming 2nd Conference of APMCHUD tentatively scheduled for May 2008 at Tehran, the Minister solicited extensive guidance and cooperation from the Secretariat of the Bureau. The Minister also thanked Mr Husni Abu Ghaida, Honourable Minister for Public Works and Housing, Jordan and Mr. Shehadah Abu Hdaib, Director General, HUDC, Government of Jordan, for hosting this event in a pleasant environment.
The Director General,
HUDC, Mr. Shehadah Abu Hdaib while
welcoming the members and
participants, briefly explained the initiatives being taken by HUDC as the
government’s sole agency responsible for housing and urban sectors and
highlighted the achievements of HUDC, He
indicated that since the establishment of HUDC in 1965, the organisation has
provided shelter to more than 42 thousand households all over the country, in
addition to the public buildings such as schools, health centres, community
buildings, commercial centres, etc. Briefly
outlining the Jordan Government’s National Housing Strategy and the reforms in
the housing sector, he expressed the Government’s resolve to jointly work with
the members in fulfilling the
commitments of the millennium development goals for sustainable development.
The Honourable Minister
of Public Works and Housing, Government of Jordan, Mr. Husni Abu Ghaida, in his
address welcomed the Honourable Ministers and delegates for the Second Meeting
of the Bureau of APMCHUD to Amman, the capital of Jordan.
He highlighted the challenges of rapid urbanisation and deteriorating
quality of life of the poor,
and underlined the critical role of shelter in addressing the
socio-economic challenges and expectations.
The Hon’ble Minister further elaborated on the various initiatives
being taken up by the Government of Jordan to address these challenges.
He informed the Bureau about the new royal grant initiated by His
Majesty, King Abdullah the II,
for providing housing to about 33,000 households in the next 5 years in
an affordable manner. He appreciated the efforts of the Government of India for
initiating the Asia Pacific Ministerial Assembly for housing and urban
development in 2006 towards addressing the challenges facing the Asia Pacific
countries and provide a common understanding among them on housing and urban
issues and fostering partnerships between the governments
and other stake holders.
After the brief remarks
by the Honourable Members, the Chief Coordinator Mr. S.K. Singh, with the
permission of the Chair, introduced the agenda items.
Confirmation of the Minutes of the
First Meeting of the Bureau of the Asia Pacific Ministers Conference
on Housing
and Urban Development held at Nairobi on 15th April, 2007.
The
Chief Coordinator, while introducing the agenda items, indicated that the
Minutes of the 1st Meeting were circulated to all the members of the
Bureau and no comments have been received thereon. The members were requested
to offer comments, if any, on the minutes of the first meeting of the Bureau.
The
representative from Azerbaijan enquired about the comments, if any, received
from China with regard to Item No. 3 of the first meeting.
The Chief Coordinator informed that no comments were received from China
in this regard and accordingly, action of placing
the statement on establishment of APMCHUD and soliciting active
participation and assistance from UN-Habitat,
in the 21st Governing Council Meeting of the UN-Habitat at
Nairobi was completed.
There
being no other comments from the members, the Bureau ratified the minutes of
the 1st meeting of the Bureau held at Nairobi on 15th
April, 2007.
Item No. 2:
Action
taken report on the decisions of the Bureau of APMCHUD in its First meeting
held at Nairobi on 15th April, 2007.
The
Chief Coordinator of the Interim Secretariat explained the various actions to be
taken as a follow-up of the decisions in the 1st Meeting of the
Bureau held at Nairobi, and outlined the actions taken on each decision.
As
part of agenda item No. 1 of the 1st Meeting on the theme of setting
up of an Interim Secretariat of the Bureau of APMCHUD,
the Bureau had desired that the details of the Interim Secretariat
already set up be conveyed to all the Members of the APMCHUD. It was noted that
a communication has already been issued by the Hon’ble Chairperson in this
regard to all the Member Countries of the APMCHUD,
and a copy of the same was also placed with the agenda item for the
information of the Bureau.
As
part of the agenda item No.2 of the 1st Meeting in regard to
identification of modalities of establishing the Secretariat and other organs,
the Bureau had decided that the details on the activities, etc of the
Permanent Secretariat be considered in the forthcoming Meeting. It was noted that a proposal on the subject has already been
incorporated as a separate agenda item for discussion in this 2nd
Meeting of the Bureau.
As
part of the agenda item No.3 of the 1st Meeting in regard to
soliciting the Asia Pacific Countries and the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT
to assist the Bureau in its efforts to establish the Secretariat, the Bureau had
decided that the Statement by the Chairperson of the Bureau of APMCHUD on
establishment of APMCHUD and soliciting active participation and assistance from
UN-Habitat, be tabled in the 21st Governing Council Meeting of the
UN-HABITAT after receipt of comments, if any, from the Bureau Members. It was
noted that as no comments were received, the Statement was tabled in the 21st
Governing Council Meeting of the UN-HABITAT on 19th April, 2007
As
part of the agenda item No.4 of the 1st Meeting in regard soliciting
the co-operating partners to support APMCHUD efforts in the implementation of
the measures outlined in the Delhi Declaration of APMCHUD,
the Bureau had decided that the Chairperson may address an appropriate
communication to keep the referred Institutions/agencies and other related
organizations informed in regard to the formation of the APMCHUD, its Bureau and
Secretariat enclosing therewith a copy of the Delhi Declaration. The 2nd
meeting of the Bureau noted that a communication as referred has already been
sent by the Hon’ble Chairperson and that a copy of the same has also been
placed as part of the agenda item for reference of the Hon’ble members of the
Bureau.
As
part of the agenda item No.5 of the 1st Meeting in regard to
establishment of Coordinating Committees for the housing and urban development
issues in Asia-Pacific Countries to mainstream the issues of the sector and
giving a high prominence to the challenges of sustainable urbanization,
the Bureau had decided that, while each Member country may decide on the
appropriate mechanism and composition of the Co-ordination Committee, it may be
advisable to constitute the same with the Minister concerned as the Chair. The
Bureau further authorized the Chairperson to address an appropriate
communication to all the Member Countries of APMCHUD in this regard.
The 2nd meeting of the Bureau noted that a communication as
referred has already been sent by the Hon’ble Chairperson and that a copy of
the same has been placed as part of the agenda item for reference.
As
part of the agenda item No.6 of the 1st Meeting in regard to `any
other Item which members may like to take up’ it was decided by the Bureau
that the next meeting of the Bureau (2nd) be held at New Delhi and
the subsequent meetings could be in other countries as may be agreed.
In this regard it was indicated that as the Government of Jordan had
kindly offered to host the 2nd meeting (current) at Jordan,
accordingly, this meeting has been convened at Amman,
Jordan.
The
Bureau noted the various actions taken on the decisions of the Bureau in its 1st
meeting held at Nairobi.
Item No. 3:
Establishment
of the Secretariat for the Bureau of APMCHUD and Action Plan for the same
Introducing
the agenda item, the Chief
Coordinator of the Bureau of APMCHUD indicated that the Bureau in its 1st
meeting at Nairobi had decided that the details on the activities, etc of the
Permanent Secretariat be considered in the forthcoming Meeting,
and accordingly a draft proposal for establishment of the Permanent
Secretariat of the Bureau of the Asia Pacific Ministers’ Conference on Housing
& Urban Development (APMCHUD) has been drawn-up. He further indicated that
the proposal covers the mandatory framework of the APMCHUD,
its vision and mission, its executive Secretariat including its
structure, action plan and source of finance. Outlining the contents,
the Chief Coordinator explained that while drafting the details, a
significant guidance has been taken from the efforts already made by similar
institutions particularly the African Ministers Conference on Housing and Urban
Development, which is already in
existence. The details worked out covers the mandatory framework, vision &
mission, roles, structure, action plan, and initial support for the functioning
of the Secretariat of the APMCHUD.
While
explaining in detail the contents of the mandatory framework and the vision and
mission of the APMCHUD, the Chief Coordinator indicated that the special focus
of these would be, as outlined by
the Chairperson in her initial remarks, on sharing of mutual experiences,
exposure to best practices for achieving the common objectives,
and facilitate each other in promoting sustainable development of human
settlements in the Asia Pacific Region.
While
commenting on the contents of para 3 on `Executive Secretariat’,
the Hon’ble Member from Iran indicated that,
in addition to the 13 items outlined in the agenda item indicating the
responsibilities of the executive secretariat, he suggested that the executive
secretariat should provide necessary available information to the member country
where ever the APMCHUD conference is scheduled to happen. The Hon’ble Member
further indicated that the executive secretariat could also play a significant
role in collation and dissemination of innovative construction methodologies,
methods of financing, sources of financing including public-private
partnerships and government subsidies with
particular reference to extending affordable housing to the low income
population.
Appreciating
the suggestion by the Hon’ble Member, the Chairperson indicated that the
responsibility of the executive secretariat could be expanded as suggested and
accordingly two additional responsibilities as under could be added:
“14.
Collation and dissemination of innovative construction methodologies,
methods of financing, sources of financing including public-private partnerships
and government subsidies with particular reference to extending affordable
housing to the low income population.
15.
Provide necessary available information to the member country, where ever
the APMCHUD conference is scheduled to happen.”
This
was agreed to, by the Bureau.
In
regard to the Action Plan for the executive secretariat, the Chief Coordinator
indicated that the action plan has been detailed in terms of the key objective,
the output expected, the activities/project to be undertaken for achieving the
same, and the indicator of its
achievement. He further indicated
that the time frame for each of the key objective would be finalized after
adoption of the proposed action plan by the Bureau.
The
action plan was approved by the Bureau.
In
regard to the source of finance, the
Chief Coordinator indicated that the Interim secretariat of the Bureau is
already functional in New Delhi since April 2007,
and that the executive secretariat to undertake the functions outlined in
the agenda would be initially supported by the Government of India, Ministry of Housing and urban Poverty Alleviation and the
Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO)
with skeletal staff and logistic arrangements.
Elaborating
on the issue of sources of finance for the operations of the Executive
Secretariat of the Bureau of APMCHUD, the
Chairperson indicated that
the issue of financial assistance from UN-Habitat has been discussed extensively
in the context of the African MCHUD. The
Chairperson indicated that the Institutional support, though may be forthcoming,
may take a substantial time to firm up, and in this process a considerable time may be lost in
operationalising the actions the way the APMCHUD has intended to.
In order to immediately get into action mode, it was felt desirable to
start with the support from Government of India with nominal support and without
the financial support issue hampering the progress of work/initiatives.
Accordingly at this stage, this
proposal is submitted for Bureau’s consideration.
Congratulating
the efforts for launching the web-site on APMCHUD,
the Ambassador of Malaysia in Jordan, indicated that this effort would go
a long way in enhancing more meaningful cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region.
In regard to the source of finance for operationlising the Executive
Secretariat, appreciating the
decision of the Government of India to support the running of the Secretariat at
this stage, enquired whether any expenditure sharing formula has been finalized
for the member countries of APMCHUD in future. The Chairperson indicated that no
cost sharing formula has been worked out or
considered at this stage, and the
emphasis has been to operationalise the Secretariat to take up the activities
with minimal expenditure support from the Government of India at this stage,
and nevertheless inter-governmental contribution or sharing formulas
could be discussed later based on the prevalent methods in this regard.
Explaining
further on the web-site, the
Chairperson indicated that this initial effort would have to be expanded to make
it more dynamic with substantial quantum of information on housing and urban
development activities incorporated, including various best practices and innovative schemes, with links established to the web-sites
of all the member countries of APMCHUD. It
should be a rich one with links provided to the web-sites of all relevant
institutions. It should have
facility for providing comments and views by members and also have link to the
official web-sites of all the member
countries and also international and multi-lateral Institutions in the field of
housing and urban development. The Chairperson welcomed suggestions and comments
from the Member countries for its improvement to make it an effective tool for
interaction and information exchange.
The
Hon’ble Member from Iran expressed his appreciation of this effort in setting
up of a web-site for the APMCHUD and felt this would promote substantial
interaction among the member countries. The Hon’ble Member suggested that the
web-site should have a data bank in which all the countries place their programmes, views,
visions, plans, etc on the four
basic aspects outlined in the Delhi Declaration.
The details could include the innovative programmes already/to be
launched and make them available to all the countries for information, adoption
and adaption. All the members
should be able to periodically update the respective details with the help of
the executive secretariat.
The
Director General of HUDC, Jordan appreciating the effort in launching the
web-site for AMCHUD opined that the success of the effort lies in all the
countries placing their development programmes/practices and visions in the
field of housing and urban development in the web-site for a larger
appreciation. He further suggested
that with link to the web-sites of UN-HABIAT,
etc the best practices in this field should be accessible to every member
country, thus making it truly a
global information web-site on housing and urban development.
The
representative from Azerbaijan felt that this initiative would contribute in
improving mutual awareness on developmental initiatives. He further suggested
that each member country may provide a focal point officer to update their
information content on a regular basis and send it to the executive secretariat
for final updating in the web-site. The
suggestion was agreed to by the Bureau.
Conveying
the congratulatory note of the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT on the
substantial progress being exhibited by the APMCHUD in a short time of its
establishment, the representative
of UN-HABITAT, Nairobi expressed its continued support to APMCHUD in its efforts
to achieve sustainable human settlement development in the Asia Pacific Region.
Appreciating the effort made in launching a specific web-site for the APMCHUD,
he indicated that UN-HABITAT would go through the same and offer its
comments and suggestions if any, for improving its contents and reach.
In regard to the immediate efforts needed by the
member countries, the UN-Habitat representative highlighted the
suggestion for setting up of coordination committees in each country for the
housing and urban development sector to gain a focused impact.
Reacting to the suggestion on the establishment of the Coordination
Committees in each member country, the
Chairperson indicated that a communication has been addressed to all the Member
countries to give priority to setting up of the Coordination Committee for the
sector to mainstream issues of housing and urban development in respective
countries for giving a high prominence to the shelter challenges.
The
Bureau appreciated the decision of the Government of India to support the
establishment of the Permanent Secretariat of the Bureau in Delhi. With the
above, including the additions proposed
to the responsibilities of the executive secretariat,
the agenda item on establishment of the Secretariat for the Bureau of
APMCHUD and the action plan for the same was approved.
Item
No.4:
Any
other items with the permission of the Chair:
The
chairperson invited the members to suggest any items for discussion that they
may desire.
a)
Holding
of the 3rd Meeting of the Bureau:
The Chairperson indicated that as of now,
the venue for the next meeting i.e the 3rd meeting of the
Bureau is being kept as Delhi, unless
any offer is received from the member country to host the same. The Chairperson
indicated that any Member country willing to host the 3rd meeting may
inform about their offer separately. The
Chairperson further suggested that the time available for the 2nd
Conference of the APMCHUD to be held in Tehran is very short, and as such, the next meeting (3rd)
of the Bureau may focus extensively on the organization of the
Conference.
b)
Holding of the 2nd Conference of the APMCHUD in Tehran,
Iran: The Hon’ble member from Iran indicated that, as of now, the
Government of Iran has proposed to hold the 2nd Conference during the
second half of May 2008, and
desired to know the views/comments on the suitability of the same.
After deliberations, it was decided that the tentative date indicated
would be put in the web-site as part of the minutes as well, so that any member
country having any suggestion/comment may offer the same.
The
Hon’ble Member from Iran further desired that to effectively organize the 3rd
Conference of APMCHUD at Tehran, Iran
cooperation from UN-Habitat as well as the Executive Secretariat of APMCHUD
would be required, and accordingly, a
focal point needs to be identified and designated for intense interaction.
In this regard, the
Chairperson indicated that UN-HABITAT has organized systems for extending such
cooperation and guidance for similar events,
and expressed confidence that UN-HABITAT would extend all its help the
same way it extended during the organization of the 1st conference of
APMCHUD in Delhi in December 2006. In
regard to the cooperation from the Bureau’s secretariat, the Chairperson
assured that the necessary available information would be provided to the
organizers.
c)
Holding of a PREPCOM by APMCHUD and UNESCAP before the next World
Urban Forum: The Chief
Coordinator indicated that UNESCAP has desired to organize a Prepcom in
association with APMCHUD, before the World Urban Forum scheduled to be held in
2008. After
deliberations it was decided that this could be organized at the sidelines of
the 3rd Conference of the APMCHUD in Tehran, and accordingly the
Bureau authorized the Chief Coordinator to coordinate with UN-ESCAP and the
Government of Iran in this regard.
d)
Holding of a special one-day session on public-private-partnership just
prior to the 3rd Conference of APMCHUD in Tehran, Iran:
The representative from UN-HABITAT highlighted the Resolution No.21.7 of
the 21st UN Governing Council which pertained to `sustainable
public-private partnership incentive for attracting large scale private sector
investment in low income housing’ and suggested that an exclusive one-day
official level meeting of bureaucrats and technocrats could be organized just on
the prior day to the commencement of the 3rd Conference of the
APMCHUD, which can finalise its
recommendations and provide the same to the Conference for its consideration for
adoption. The Chairperson suggested that UN-HABITAT may
send its suggestion to the Bureau which would be considered by the Government of
Iran for incorporation in the finalized programme.
The
meeting of the Bureau of APMCHUD ended with a vote of thanks to the Chair.