Qatar hosts 27th Gulf Municipal Affairs Ministers’ Meeting

The State of Qatar hosted the 27th Meeting of the Ministers of Municipal Affairs of the Gulf Cooperation Council States, held today in Doha, with the participation of the Ministers and His Excellency Mr. Jassim Mohammed Al-Budawi, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
During the meeting, the Guidelines for the Use of Solar Panels on Buildings in the Cooperation Council Countries, the Guidelines for the Procedures for Towing and Seizing Abandoned, Damaged and Broken Vehicles in the Cooperation Council Countries and the Requirements for Public Health Pest Control Facilities in the Cooperation Council Countries were adopted. The meeting also approved the date of the 3rd Gulf Municipal Week to be held in the State of Kuwait in 2025 AD, the date of the 13th Gulf Municipal Work Conference in 2026 AD, the launch date of the 6th Cooperation Council Municipal Work Award in 2025 and 2026 AD, and other decisions of the interest of Gulf municipalities. .
The participants also praised the success of the second Gulf Municipalities Week, held by the State of Qatar from April 28 to May 2, 2024 AD, and the events it includes.
In his opening remarks, His Excellency Mr. Abdullah bin Hamad bin Abdullah Al Attiyah, Minister of Municipalities and Chairman of the Conference, acknowledged that the State of Qatar has made many achievements in recent years in the field of providing sustainable and healthier options for its people, in implementation of the directives of the country’s Emir, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as part of its ongoing efforts to develop municipal work and improve the quality of life in Qatar’s cities.
He said that thanks to the country’s efforts, all Qatari cities have been awarded the title of Healthy Cities by the World Health Organization, seven out of eight Qatari cities have become members of the UNESCO Global Learning Cities Network, and have developed goals in accordance with the Third National Development Strategy 2024-2030, which is the Qatar National Vision 2030, which aims to make the State of Qatar one of the best countries to live in for families, a leader in the level of digital government, and provide a high quality of life for all through excellent healthcare and security, public safety and cultural enrichment.
His Excellency the Minister of Municipalities noted that the conference was held to meet the growing interest and desire of the leaders of the GCC countries to achieve more in many areas of joint municipal work in the Gulf, including: strategic urban planning, urban environment, developing a unified strategy for municipal work and highway facility services between the GCC countries, and training Gulf cadres in the field of municipal work, in addition to many joint projects between the GCC countries.
His Excellency went on to say that at the last meeting of the committee in 2023 AD, a number of achievements were achieved, including: the launch of the electronic version of the Gulf Building Code, the approval of the Gulf Cities’ Multi-Year Joint Action Plan 2024-2030, and the approval of three Gulf Guidelines, which are: Guidelines for Classification of Contractors in the Construction Sector in GCC Countries, Guidelines for the Organization of Food Trucks, and Guidelines for the Organization of Group Housing.
His Excellency Mr. Abdullah bin Hamad bin Abdullah Al Attiya, Minister of Municipalities, expressed sincere gratitude to the General Secretariat of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf for its contributions and efforts over the past period, which have had a significant impact. By following up on the decisions and recommendations of the Ministerial Conference, coordinating and organizing the operational and cooperation frameworks among the Member States to strengthen the process of joint action in various fields of the Gulf, and influencing the process of joint action in the Gulf cities in a way that achieves the ambitions, aspirations and hopes of the peoples and citizens of the Council, while praising the outstanding role played by the sisterly Sultanate of Oman during its presidency of the previous session in 2023.
The 27th meeting of the Committee of Ministers of Municipal Affairs discussed a number of important topics, most notably the implementation of the decisions issued by the Supreme Committee in previous sessions in the municipal field, concerning urban strategic planning and urban environment, as well as the decisions of the Council of Ministers on the formulation of legislation for the Gulf Building Code, municipal control mechanisms, conditions and mechanisms for the classification of contractors, and the Gulf Joint Municipal Action Plan (2024-2030).
The meeting also discussed the implementation of the previous decisions of the Ministerial Committee of Municipal Affairs on the “Gulf Municipalities Week”, the signing of agreements with specialized organizations serving the municipal sector, the Gulf Municipalities Conference, the GCC Municipalities Award, and the emphasis on Gulf municipalities in regional and international forums and other common topics among the Council countries.
The 27th meeting of the Committee of Excellencies the Ministers of Municipal Affairs was held within the framework of ongoing coordination among the GCC member states to exchange expertise and outstanding experiences in various fields of joint municipal work and review the achievements of the past few years.