Keynote speakers addressing the opening of the 3rd Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development (APMCHUD) on Tuesday called on governments to share lessons and best practices to ensure that plans to tackle housing needs and urban development are carried through in the world's most populous region. The meeting was formally opened by Mr. Bibi Waluyo, Governor, Central Java, who called it a strategic conference for the Asia Pacific Region. Keynote addresses were delivered by Mr. Sunil K. Singh, Chief Coordinator, APMCHUD Secretariat in New Delhi, Mr. Daniel Biau, Director, Regional and Technical Cooperation Division, UN-HABITAT on behalf of the Executive Director, Mr. Ali Nikzad, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Iran, Mr. Djoko Kirmanto, Minister for Public Works, Indonesia, and Mr. Budi Yuwono, Director General of Housing and Urban Development, Ministry of Public Works, Indonesia.
"In our view, the coming together of all countries that constitute the Asia-Pacific region is a very important initiative in our field of expertise. As you all know, this region in its totality represents 60 percent of humankind. Moreover, Asian cities are home to nearly half the urban population of the world," Mr. Biau said in his presentation. "The State of Asian Cities Report 2010, which is currently being finalised, shows that in 2010, the urbanization in the region stands at 42.2 per cent, and with current rapid urban growth, Asia is expected to turn "urban", with over 50 per cent of population living in cities, by the year 2025." For details, and summaries of remarks by all the speakers, click here.
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