On a working tour of Spain, UN-HABITAT Executive Director Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka this week held talks with the country’s Vice-President, Mrs. Maria Teresa Fernández de la Vega, and the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Commerce, Mr. Joan Clos. | |  | | | Mrs. Tibaijuka with Vice-President Fernández de la Vega |
Mrs. Tibaijuka and Mrs. de la Vega discussed bilateral cooperation in various fields related to the development of human settlements. The Vice-President of the Government of Spain reiterated the interest of her Government to support multilateralism and the work of the United Nations, particularly the activities of UN-HABITAT. Mrs. de la Vega expressed the country’s readiness to collaborate closely with UN-HABITAT strengthening the presence of Spain both in terms of technical cooperation and by increasing the financial support to the agency in order to promote more sustainable urban development. “My Government believes that there is a fundamental need to empower urban women and improve their living standards through increasing their access to and ownership of land and housing, creating jobs and awareness to women’s human rights, in particular housing rights”, she said. Mrs. Tibaijuka expressed her appreciation to the financial support provided by the Spanish Government and welcomed the prospects of additional collaboration and financial support. She said UN-HABITAT would be pleased to develop further collaboration with universities, centres of excellence and private companies in areas such as appropriate technology for low cost housing and urban planning. In her meeting with Mr. Clos, the former Mayor of Barcelona and host of the Second Session of the World Urban Forum in 2004, Mrs. Tibaijuka congratulated him on his ministerial appointment. They discussed a range of issues on urban development. |
