Minister of Municipality H E Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie touring associated exhibition held at 57th International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) World Planning Congress.
Doha has emerged as one of the most inspiring urban development models in the Middle East and even globally.
“With its sustainable urban planning, resilience, people-centred development and diversification of economy, the capital of Qatar has demonstrated its full readiness for the post-oil era,” said Minister of Municipality H E Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie.
Addressing the opening ceremony of the 57th International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) World Planning Congress yesterday, the Minister said: “We have committed to making all the cities of Qatar, especially Doha, a model for environmentally- and human-friendly cities through sustainable urban planning.”
With over 350 participants from all over the world, the four-day event is being hosted by the Ministry of Municipality represented by the Urban Planning Sector at Msheireb, Doha under the theme ‘Planning Unlocked: New Times, Better Places, Stronger Communities’.
The Minister said that this Congress will discuss the regional and global issues and challenges for planning better cities in post-COVID-19 and climate change.
“The Congress takes place only one year before Qatar hosts the 2022 FIFA World Cup which is an opportunity to demonstrate the wonderful preparations made by Qatar to host this event to be a unique experience especially from the perspective of urban planning, sustainability and quality of life,” said the Minister.
He said that the event will provide a professional and scientific forum where global planning experiences will be exchanged at the highest levels of international and regional practices in the field of urban planning.
“Qatar was keen to support international organisations working in development and humanitarian affairs as Qatar provided additional support to ISOCARP worth 50,000 euros, in addition to the main support for hosting, amounting to 100,000 euros, to cope with the difficult circumstances caused by the pandemic,” said the Minister.
After the opening, the Minister of Municipality toured the associated exhibition of the Congress, in which a number of local authorities are participating to introduce their projects in the field.
Chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the Congress, Eng. Mubarak Mahboub Al Nuimi said Qatar has an integrated future planning vision that is based on Qatar National Vision 2030 and adopted the concepts of comprehensive sustainability.
He said that planning vision of Qatar is based on the concepts of human and environment-friendly cities to establish a distinguished infrastructure enabling the country to host giant world events and to be fully prepared to receive the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, more than a year before its schedule.
ISOCARP President, Martin Dubbeling, highlighted the key role of ISOCARP World Planning Congress in opening communication channels internationally in order to bring about sustainable and smart community and city planning.
Dubbeling said that the ISOCARP society supported by its institutes provides opportunity to share expertise to participate in academic research projects to plan and design new and better cities.
Speaking to The Peninsula, Director of the Congress Eng. Amna Al Jaber said that number of participants to the Congress reached over 350 from urban planning sector from all over the world, including GCC, a number of Arab countries, Russia, Serbia and China. She said that about 150 people will attend the Congress virtually and over 200 papers on urban development will be tabled at the Congress.
