New Delhi
Thank you Secretary Shri Issar for your welcoming remarks. It is a great honour to address this opening session of the first ever Asia-Pacific Ministers’ Conference on Housing and Human Settlements. UN-HABITAT is proud to co-host this meeting with the Government of India.
New Delhi
I am deeply honoured to present this keynote address to such a distinguished forum. Our drive for sustainable urbanisation is perhaps the most important challenge facing humanity at the dawn of our planet’s new urban age. And this occasion marks the first time that key decision makers from the world’s most populous region are gathered in quest of a new vision for sustainable cities by the year 2020.
Internationales Kongresszentrum Bundeshaus Bonn
On behalf of Dr. Anna Tibaijuka, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, I wish to convey her appreciation for the gracious invitation received from Dr. Rupert Maclean to attend this conference and to deliver a keynote address. She extends her sincere apologies for not being able to participate in person as originally promised. She has requested me to deliver the following statement on her behalf, and I will read it verbatim.