The new Permanent Representative of the League of Arab States to UN-HABITAT, Mr. Salim Mohammed Al-Khussaibi, on Thursday presented his credentials to the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka.Mrs. Tibaijuka said that member countries of the Arab League were very important in realizing the goals of the agency, which was active in many countries in the Arab League, working with 228 civil society organizations in the region. She cited Dubai as a great supporter of the Best Practices Programme of UN-HABITAT.
Mrs. Tibaijuka said that many countries in the Arab League now had Habitat Programme Managers (HPMs) to ensure the mainstreaming of UN-HABITAT programmes in their countries. Mrs. Tibaijuka called for more support from member countries of the Arab League and also from the League itself. She also invited Mr. Al-Khussaibi to participate in the Third session of the World Urban Forum in Vancouver, Canada, from 19-23 June 2006. She also called on the Arab League to help less developed countries participate in the Forum. She said she was optimistic that the appointment of Mr. Al-Khussaibi, from Oman, would help strengthen the cordial relationship between the League and UN-HABITAT. Mr. Al-Khussaibi said he would use his 13-year experience as his country’s Ambassador to the United Nations to help strengthen the relationship between the Arab League and UN-HABITAT. |
