His Excellency Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing, met today in his office with with the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), Maymuna Mohamed Sharif, and her accompanying delegation, to discuss opportunities for joint cooperation between the two sides, and ways to benefit from the programs and services provided by the Ministry in the municipal and housing sectors. The meeting was attended by His Excellency the Deputy Minister of Municipal, Rural, and Housing Affairs, Engineer Abdullah bin Muhammad Al-Badeer, His Royal Highness Prince Saud bin Talal bin Badr, Undersecretary for Customer Experience and Customer Service and General Supervisor of the General Directorate of Institutional Partnerships and International Cooperation, and a number of senior ministry officials.
The meeting included a discussion of a number of topics of mutual interest to both sides, as well as ways to develop high-quality partnerships between the Ministry and United Nations development programs in the areas of infrastructure, housing projects, and enhancing quality-of-life standards, The meeting also reviewed the Kingdom’s housing story as one of the world’s most successful initiatives, given its contribution to increasing the homeownership rate among Saudi families from 47% to 60% over a four-year period.
At the start of the meeting, His Excellency Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing, welcomed Ms. Maimuna Mohamed Sharif, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, and her accompanying delegation, noting the importance of the meeting in strengthening joint cooperation and sharing Saudi Arabia’s successful experiences in the housing sector under the umbrella of the Housing Program—one of the programs of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
During the meeting, the participants reviewed areas of fruitful cooperation with the United Nations-Habitat program, drawing on the Future of Saudi Cities Program, the Developmental Housing Program, and support for the National Urban Strategy.
The meeting also addressed the Ministry’s efforts in the housing sector, which have contributed to enhancing market balance by stimulating demand and increasing supply, developing market regulations and legislation, and facilitating access for more than 1.3 million Saudi families through simple and accessible electronic procedures, with the goal of increasing the homeownership rate among Saudi families to 70% by 2030.
It is worth noting that the Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing previously signed an agreement for a technical support project for developmental housing initiatives with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which operates in more than 170 countries, as part of the Ministry’s efforts to benefit from international experiences and expertise in the fields of housing in general and developmental housing in particular.
